


Show Must Go On

by AshaCrone



Category: Avengers Assemble (Cartoon), Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes
Genre: Alpha Bucky Barnes, Alpha Tony Stark, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Child Death, Extremely Dubious Consent, Fix-It of Sorts, Hurt Steve Rogers, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Maybe not so past relationships, Multi, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Steve Rogers, Past Mpreg, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-30
Updated: 2015-10-24
Packaged: 2018-02-27 13:42:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 43,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2695121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshaCrone/pseuds/AshaCrone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve Rogers lost more than just his life when Bucky kicked him off that rocket. He lost his partner, and never got to see his child grow up. <br/>Waking up in the 21st century was both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, life is better for people like him. People who don't fit one mold or another. His new team is helping him cope.<br/> On the other hand, his enemies weren't kind enough to die of old age. In particular, the Red Skull. <br/>So Steve tries to find the strength to carry on, to build a new life. Too bad his old one isn't quite as gone as he had thought.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Waking up on the wrong side of the body

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is an attempt to write some decent world-building into an ABO fic that I can stand. I've tried to treat Alphas and Omegas as I think they would be treated in real life. So while they do have some of the more porny aspects (heats, knots, etc) the other things that bother me, like bonding, will not be used. Yay for open sandbox!
> 
> This is also an attempt to bridge Avengers: EMH and Avengers Assemble into a bit more coherent whole. Granted, that means I'll have to decide what to keep and what to discard, but that happens. I'll also fill gaps in with movie-verse and 616 as appropriate. Please enjoy.

The after-mission debrief ended, and Steve Rogers watched as everyone on the team paired off to leave: Hawkeye and Widow to make a report to SHIELD, Hulk and Thor went to grab food, while Tony and the new kid, Sam, headed off to the lab to analyze whatever weird magic had made part of the Great Wall of China turn stand up and bark. The entire day had been long, exhausting, and with the reassembly of the Avengers, more than a little disorienting.

Less than twenty-four hours ago, the Red Skull had stolen his body. Steve realized, with dread twisting his belly, that he had no idea how long Red Skull had been wearing it.

There had been a hell of a lot to think about. Not the least of which was that the Skull had to have been planning his little body-swap trap for some time. Especially if he had enlisted the help of MODOK. In retrospect, it should have been an obvious trap. The HYDRA goons SHIELD had asked him to investigate were too easy.

"JARVIS, can you point me to the Sick Bay?" Steve asked the empty air, tilting his head to the side. 

" _Of course, Captain Rogers. _" A faint light lit the walls in the direction he needed to go in. With a nod of thanks, Steve got to his feet.__

__He had been fighting Red Skull... sometime that morning? Yesterday morning. Then he had been taken. Taken and..._ _

__He frowned. Memories were hard to come by. He remembered... finding himself in a laboratory. Strapped down. Red Skull leering down, touching his face-_ _

__Iron control, and the knowledge that JARVIS was watching, kept a full body shudder from trailing down his spine. The rest of his memories were flashes._ _

__There was pain. Dealing with Skull, that was a given. That pain was mixed with confusion. First the pain was familiar, then in a way that wasn't, as it felt like his body was falling apart. His muscles were too strong for his bones, too heavy for his lungs. Colors were muted and dull, and his skin felt fragile. His head was cold as his heart struggled to beat._ _

__And the smells. The laboratory smelled like himself. He felt his body relax from it, but at the same time, his memories told him that the smell was dangerous. Alpha. But there was another smell there. One that was new. Familiar/not familiar and he needed to _growl_ , to _rend_ and to _dominate_ and- it was touching him. _ _

__Steve hid a grimace as he found the Sick Bay and stood on the diagnostic pad._ _

____

~*~*~*~*~

Tony wasn't concerned. Really, he wasn't.

That was why, of course, when Steve didn't follow him to the lab to start his endless questions on what he wanted to do with the Avengers being reassembled, what had lead up to the assault on Red Skull's lair, any random information they still might have on MODOK- basically, his usual behavior after a mission- he tried to bury himself in working out the last kinks in his armor. 

Sam was on the other side of the lab, looking at the Falcon armor, then looking up and around like he still couldn't believe where he was and what he was doing (despite having been to Tony's lab before) and wasn't exactly up for conversation. It was cute to see the kid geeking out so hard.

"You think I should apologize?"

"Hm?" Tony realized he had a stylus in his mouth as he inspected the dents and dings.

"Y'know. For earlier. When we had the MODOK nanites in our heads." At Tony's blank look, Sam's face flushed despite his dark completion. "I told him it was his fault you got hurt."

Tony spat out the stylus. "What? No." He put down the chest piece he had been inspecting. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Yeah, I know we were all a little bit crazy at the time-"

"It wasn't his fault I got hurt," Tony interrupted, feeling his eyebrows pinch together. "We didn't keep MODOK covered." But knowing Steve, he probably blamed himself. The man could take guilt way, way too far. "This is sort of par for the course, being an Avenger." He hid his grimace. It was also the main reason he broke up the band. "Steve's thrown himself between everyone and danger often enough..."

"But, y'know, we just met and everything," Sam protested. "And I want us to get off on the right foot."

"I'll tell you what. I'll pass a note to Steve at during study hall saying 'will you be my friend y/n?' and tell you what he circled." Tony let a smirk pass across his face at Sam's puppy dog eyes. 

"I could tweet him?"

"You think he knows how to use twitter?"

Sam groaned, and Tony got to his feet. "Really. I'll go talk to him if you are that afraid of it. Cap's old-fashioned but he's pretty forgiving when people say they're sorry. And it's not like you were in your right mind anyhow."

Sam covered his face. Rolling his eyes, Tony grabbed a towel to wipe the oil off his hands and waved at Sam as he left. 

"JARVIS, where is the good Capsicle now?" Tony asked, taking a right turn to find the elevator and cracked his neck.

" _Captain Rogers is currently located in the Sick Bay and is performing a self-diagnostic_ ," JARVIS reported, and Tony stopped. Paused. 

"Why would Captain America be doing a self-diagnostic? He wasn't injured when we returned from China," Tony said aloud, scratching his head. Steve's healing factor usually took care of anything short of a coma. 

" _I am not at liberty to say, sir_ ," JARVIS answered, after a moment's pause. " _Captain Rogers does not have you listed as someone who is privy to his personal medical files._ "

Tony was rarely taken aback. "So I can't order you to tell me?"

" _You could, sir, but that would be profoundly unethical. Not to mention breaking the trust of your friend._ "

Tony made a face. "If he didn't want me to know he wouldn't have put it down in a file-"

" _My mistake then. I thought shared respect was a trait of a good team._ "

"Captain America," Tony started, then stopped again when his feet finished carrying him just short of the Sick Bay. He could hear two voices, not one, speaking from inside the room. 

"Where are you heading after this?"

"SHIELD. I need to let my doctor know-"

Tony peeked around the door frame, catching sight of the speakers. Steve Rogers was standing there, arms crossed and head down and looking like someone had just kicked a puppy in front of him. Scratch that, it looked like Red Hulk had dropped on a home for blind orphan puppies then eaten them in front of Steve, and laughed while doing it. 

That had sure as hell better be what Tony saw. Because there was no way in hell he saw actual fear on Steve's face. 

Standing across from him, mirroring his stance, was Natasha. She looked about as happy as Steve did.

"Steve?"

There was a pause and Tony saw Steve come back online, going from whatever-the-hell that was to plastering his 'Captain-America-on-the-newsreels' expression on his face. "Yes? What's wrong?"

"You didn't come down to pester me about combat data. So I... figured... I'd come see what modern invention had you baffled this time." Really. Steve looking like _that-_

"I'm fine, Tony." His smile was real as plastic fruit, one that made Tony's teeth hurt just seeing it. 

"Uh huh."

Widow lifted an eyebrow as she caught Steve's eye. "Skull had switched with Steve for longer than we assumed." At Steve's glare, her eyebrow twitched. "He took exception to Steve's plumbing."

Tony paused, caught flat-footed again. "What? He was jealous?" 

Natasha snorted a small laugh. "No. Red Skull is an Alpha."

Tony felt his eyebrows climb his face as he looked Steve up and down. "I thought that was the point of the super soldier serum? To make the biggest, toughest Alpha soldier they could?"

Steve ran a hand through his hair, pressing his lips together as he stared at Natasha. "No, never was and never will be. The point of Project: Rebirth was to give someone who wasn't an Alpha physical capabilities exceeding one but still able to function in a group and keep his or her self-control. Alphas tend to be great warriors but lousy soldiers, and the brass wanted soldiers, not loose cannons. The ones I've worked with in the past can be lead, but they can't work together and have trouble following orders. Using an Alpha as a super soldier didn't work because Alphas are, what-"

"About one in one hundred, female Alphas about one in five hundred. And yeah, we do tend to be lousy at taking orders," Tony said with a smirk. 

Black Widow predictably rolled her eyes, but Steve frowned. "You haven't mentioned this?"

"Doesn't matter." Tony waved his hands in the air. "I'm safe. I'm not going to start a fight with the Hulk, or go around killing babies. I never developed the muscles but who needs them? I've still got the massive-"

Steve put a hand up to stop him. "I know the size of your ego, Tony. I've known you for over a year now, so I trust you've got everything handled."

Tony bristled. "Why yes, I _do_ have everything _handled_ -"

"He's worked with Alphas from _before_ there was an effective hormone therapy," Natasha chimed in. "So calm down before you get your boxers in a twist." She had edged closer to Steve, putting a hand on his elbow. "Steve, the scans turned nothing up beyond some evidence that Skull poked around a bit. No trauma. Nothing permanent. Don't say something you'll regret later."

Tony watched Steve's face turn blank as he nodded. 

"I'll go set up your appointment at SHIELD." Natasha was rarely physically affectionate, but she ran her hand over Steve's forearm as she left. "I'll see you later."

"Okay, what was that about?" Tony put his hands on his hip and tried to glower, but he could see the kicked-puppy expression trying to break through the stoic mask on Steve's face. 

"Skull had my body for a few hours, Tony. I think he was actually trying to put himself back in his old body when you interrupted." Steve's face stayed shuttered. "I'm glad you got me when you did. I doubt he would have done something permanent while he was wearing my body but afterwards..."

"He went through a lot of trouble to get his own Cap suit, though," Tony said. There was a clue he was missing. A big one. "Not to mention that he was still sick from the breakdown of the serum."

A faint smirk crossed Steve's face. "I was, and still am, just some guy from Brooklyn. When I was in Skull I felt... aggressive, territorial. There was someone there who made me feel strange, and-"

"You think Skull had a similar reaction to being in your body?" 

"Once he realized I was," and he stuttered, "Not... an Alpha, yes." Steve started cracking his knuckles. "I imagine that it would have been one hell of a blow to the ego."

"We're not exactly known for our... _humility_...yes," Tony said, then made a face. "Yuck. I just admitted to having something in common with the Red Skull."

"Yes. You both also breathe oxygen. We'll have to watch you, Tony." 

Tony mimed grabbing his arc reactor in pain. "Captain America... not allowed... to make... _jokes_." But the faint smile back on Steve's face was worth it. For a moment, it was almost like Galactus had never shown up and thrown their lives into hell. Like Tony had never broken up the Avengers because he couldn't face the memory of their losses. For a moment, they were back in Avengers Mansion and Steve was pointing out something profound to keep Tony's perspective. Then Tony would call him an old man and Steve would grumble. 

"Why did you do it?" Steve asked, the smile sliding from his face. "Break us up, then get us back together?" He leaned against one of the beds, head tilted to the side.

"You know why-"

"Your ego is huge, but that couldn't have been the only reason." Steve's stare was penetrating, and Tony almost squirmed. Almost. 

"We weren't working. You and I were at each other's throats, T'Challa _left_ because he was needed in Wakanda, Hank had a complete meltdown and Janet left because it was too much for her." Tony exhaled. "Carol _died_ when Galactus came, Steve. She died, and so did Vision, and we were fighting each other almost as much the bad guys. I don't regret shutting us down."

"We all grieve in our own way, Tony." Steve's fingers started drumming on the bed, while his eyes ducked to somewhere on Tony's chest. "We were all hurting. If we had had time, we might have worked it out."

"Then why call us back?"

Tony looked at Steve. For most of Tony's life, Captain America had been a poster on Tony's wall and a relic his father had searched for, and the guy his dad wanted Tony to be. Then Tony met Steve Rogers, the awkward fish out of water who was heart-sore and grieving for what he had lost but kept going because he just didn't know how to give up. The man who, despite being lost and angry, had been Tony's compass and support through everything.

"Because I couldn't save you, but I could damn well avenge you, Steve." He leaned onto the same bed, and bumped shoulders with Steve. "I wouldn't have stopped until I had Skull's head on a plate."

The serious look on Steve's face didn't change as he took Tony's hand and squeezed it. "Thank you, Tony. You didn't have to."

"I think I did."

Steve laughed, and let himself lean on Tony for a moment before straightening up. "I need to get to SHIELD. Will you be here when I get back?" This time his smile was lopsided, almost broken, like he was afraid that Tony would vanish if he left the room.

Tony then realized that _he_ had been the one stomping on puppies when he shut down the Avengers. Steve didn't have anyone else. All the people who had known him in 1945 were villains now. Tony had destroyed the only family Steve had. 

"Yeah. Yeah, of course."

To be continued.


	2. Longing and loss

It was a few days after Steve found himself in this new century, that Nick Fury found him. 

Their first conversation had been reassuring, as he got back his motorcycle and found another son of an old friend. It had given him something familiar to hold on to, made him feel less adrift.

That afternoon, Fury had called him back to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hidden base. He offered Steve a drink, which Steve didn't take, then a file. Steve blinked at it; the paper was weathered and yellowed, brittle with age and somehow sporting a coffee ring on the outside. It looked ancient. Steve realized it was, as he opened it up and read the faded print, saw his own picture as the skinny, frail man he had been before the war. 

The first page contained a laundry list of all his ailments, from asthma to heart murmur, scoliosis and-

Steve's lips tightened. "I'm familiar with my own file." He lifted his eyes to meet Fury's one, keeping his face calm. He had been awake long enough to note the changes in society, but the time or means to investigate more hadn't yet been available. He made a note to do that as soon as he could.

Fury just nodded, pressing a button behind his desk. Without warning the windows turned black and a soft humming could be heard in the walls. "The official story is that you were given Alpha traits, but no comment has been made on where you started. Or what you still are." Fury studied him, and then poured a drink for himself. Steve looked up at him, eyes narrowing when Fury gestured at him. "Please. Keep reading."

There were more pictures. There was one of himself and the Howlies, another with the Invaders, and with Howard and Peggy. He let his gaze linger on one of himself and Bucky out of uniform, gently thumbing the edge at the sight of Bucky's shit-eating grin. He had to force himself to put that it down. Beneath it was one of himself, stance wary and face cold, wearing a greatcoat with his shield over his right arm. 

The last in the pile made his heart stop.

Steve looked down at himself, and he was a mess. His hair was dark and his face was slick with sweat as he cradled a small bundle to his chest. Petty Carter was sitting beside him, gripping his hair and pressing a kiss to his forehead. Steve, though, wasn't looking at her; he only had eyes for the tiny form he held like spun glass.

It was different from the other shots, a surprise, and Steve vividly remembered the moment it had been taken. His chest ached with it.

"For years, there were rumors that you had a kid. Every so often some poor lady would try to say her brat was yours, because of money or the fact that she couldn't admit that the dad was someone else." Fury shook his head, swirling his whiskey glass. 

Steve couldn't smile. It was an act of will to lift his eyes and snort. "Like I would ever get a girl in trouble, Fury."

"You can't, Captain. But there was this nurse, though, she scared everyone real bad back in '54, saying that she had been the one to deliver your kid," Fury went on, taking a sip big enough to leave his voice rough. "Said she had been in the hospital with you, and that..." His gaze tightened, lips drawing together in thought as he drifted back to gaze at Steve. "...that the labor was real bad, and you didn't handle it well..."

Steve didn't answer, but he did get to his feet. 

"She stopped talking after she got a visit from Howard Stark. I thought, well, hell, he must have paid her off to keep her quiet. Turns out he did. Everyone thought she meant that you didn't handle your girlfriend having a baby. That you had a breakdown of some kind." 

Steve took a step towards the door.

"I didn't dismiss you, Captain."

Steve froze. 

"Cap, turn around." Steve almost couldn't do it, but he managed. There was pity on Fury's face.

"No one's seen your real file. This is the only complete one in existence, and even I didn't get to see it until yesterday." Fury put his drink down on his desk. "Talk to me, and finish looking it over."

Steve grit his teeth, felt his nostrils flair as he breathed.

"Steve, look at me."

He managed to get his eyes to the level of Fury's shoulder. 

"I need to go, Fury."

"Yeah, I get that. There are no copies of this file anywhere. It was kept in a lock box, off the grid, in Director Carter's personal safe." Fury stood up and took Steve's shoulder, steering him back towards a chair. "Who got you in trouble, Steve?"

Steve didn't answer, eyes distant. 

_"What the hell, Rogers?"_  
 _"You said it yourself, Jack. All he wants right now is fighting or sex. And we can't fight him without killing him."_  
 _"Rogers- right now every Alpha within five miles can smell you. He'll come after you, all right. That's for damn sure. But when the brass finds out-"_  
"I'll stop Bucky first, then _deal with the brass."_

Fury gently pushed him into his seat, before kneeling in front of him. Steve got his eyes level with Fury's face.

"I'd rather not say."

Fury grunted and scowled. "Fair enough. How did you hide it?"

"Russian winter. Ian was conceived in the summer. I stayed healthy through most of it. No morning sickness, some minor dizziness and mood swings. My hips hurt but I was in combat often enough that I thought it was bruising. I already ate more than anyone else in camp except Namor and got triple rations. I didn't know for sure what had happened until Ian decided to move when I was about six months along." Steve shrugged. "I'm big, so I didn't show much, and carried small. I put on a greatcoat and I was able to keep fighting up until my eighth month."

Fury rocked back, a small sputtering noise escaping his throat as he palmed his face.

"I knew it was a risk. A stupid one." 

_"Dammit, Rogers. We told you that you had to keep your legs closed. You're Captain America, not some stupid Omega whore!"_

Steve picked up the picture again. His little boy. "He must be pushing, what, sixty-five, sixty-seven..."

Fury stood, and this time he turned his back on Steve and picked up his glass of whiskey. "Flip it over. Howard Stark left a note."

Steve's lips curled up- Howard had promised he would take care of Ian- but the smile fell from his face as he read the quick, dashed off pencil note.

_Ian Rogers. Born March 21st. Died March 28th._

Underneath was the message: _I'm sorry, Steve._

The world faded out as those words made a vice over his lungs and ice tore through his belly. He could have sat there, repeating the words _Howard promised, he promised me_ in a little wheel in his brain, for hours. Years. He felt like he was having an asthma attack. He couldn't hear. Couldn't see. He couldn't feel because there was just too much horror for him to process. 

_You promised me. I should never have gone on that last mission._

A cut-glass tumbler was thrust into his hands as Fury knelt in front of him again.

"It's called 'failure to thrive'..."

~*~*~*~*~

Steve's lips were drawn into a thin line as he shook off the memories and allowed himself to be escorted to the SHIELD Medical wing.

There was no one else there, except for a polite nurse who pointed him to a room and asked him to get undressed. He stopped, dead still, and she turned flustered, explaining they had orders to do a full examination. He didn't say a word, just nodded as she pointed out where the cloth smock was and smoothed a paper on the exam bench.

The room was felt sterile, with various medical examinations detailed on the posters on the walls. He licked his lips, before picking up a model of female anatomy off the table, letting it fall apart in his hands before reassembling it back in its display rack. Different equipment was on wheeled carts, including something that had a long, flat wand. The entire room smelled of antiseptic.

There were stirrups on the bench.

With a grim smile Steve Rogers reached for the latch of his uniform at the bottom of his throat. Time to get this over with.

~*~*~*~*~

Steve absently sipped his coffee as he sat in Central Park, watching the kids play. The day was cool, brisk even, and the afternoon sun filtered through the orange leaves.

 _So, Skull knows_. The results of his examination would take a few hours to complete before going on their way to Fury, but Steve hadn't been able to sit and wait. His doctor had inserted a new IUD- the old one had been removed by the Red Skull- and he was waiting for the cramps to stop. 

"Still torturing yourself?" a light voice asked, playful but a little sad. A yellow gloved hand settled on his shoulder, and Steve smiled.

"It's not torture," he corrected, and huffed a laugh as Jan walked around to take a seat next to Steve on the bench. "I just..."

"Yeah, I get it." There were families there, of all races and configurations. Two mommies, two daddies, moms and dads and friends, and today even a pregnant male Omega. Steve stared for a moment before looking away.

Janet leaned against him. He remembered, after the news that his son had died had hit him, going back to Avengers Mansion. He hadn't responded to anyone, numb to everything until he had gotten into the shower. He had tried to scrub his skin off, letting it burn... and forgot that, for him, it had been barely five days since Ian had been born. Technically, he should have dried out already.

Jan found him an hour later, sitting in cold water as milk dribbled down his chest and sobbing. She had taken the revelation about Captain America being an Omega surprisingly well. Even gotten him pads for the remaining... 

"Sorry. Did you hear about the Avengers?" he asked her, and Jan sighed. Steve put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed. She was silent for several moments as they let the sound of laughing, shrieking and squawking children wash over them. 

"I did. Hank and I didn't get the call from Tony." Her voice was laced with longing. The kids continued to play.

"Want me to talk to him?" 

"Hank's not ready. We... well. Hank still needs me right now. He's more stable, but he could only handle being Yellow Jacket for awhile before he really got bad. He's getting better, but being out, being in the field... no."

"You could come back by yourself." 

"After what happened to Vision and Carol... I can't, Cap. Up until then, being an Avenger had been fun. Now it's real. People die. Maybe I can come back, but right now..." 

Steve rubbed her back as she sniffed. "It's okay, soldier. You fought the good fight. You earned your rest. Come back when you're ready and I'll make sure there's a place for you. You have my word." He let her bury her face in his chest, and he could feel her body shake. Being an Avenger had meant the world to the Wasp. But the loss of her friend had bent something in her, almost broken it. 

Steve still had faith she would come back. 

Eventually the sobs subsided and he felt her watery chuckle. 

"Amazing you don't give yourself away, Cap." She looked up at him and tried to smile as he offered her a handkerchief. "Being all maternal?" 

Steve grunted. 

"I saw you sulking and came out to comfort you, and you end up giving me a pep-talk. Come on, Steve. The Avengers are together again. You should be celebrating. Instead you're out here... You aren't- um- y'know, are you?" She gestured at herself, towards her lower abdomen. "Someone, um, try, ah, _baking_ with you? I mean- you know!"

Steve blinked. "Baking?"

"Yeah! I mean, er. Your, um, hot place- where things rise-" She kept gesturing. "Because small pieces of bread used for sandwiches and..." Steve was still drawing a blank. She finally stamped her feet. "You start dating?"

Steve tried to smile. "No. And no. I'm fine, Janet." He squeezed her shoulder again. "Say hi to Hank for me when you see him."

Taking that as a dismissal, Janet got to her feet. "You can come talk to me any time, Steve. You know that, right?" He nodded as she squeezed his hands. "We can go shopping."

Steve nodded. "We can. Thanks for the invite. I'll be okay, Janet. Really." His eyes drifted back to the families playing as he also stood up. "I'll be in touch."

He paused, watching the families play. Skull had stolen everything from him, but Steve couldn't fathom Skull's next move. Even a decade ago, being an Omega would have likely ruined his reputation. Now, it was still considered strange but he wouldn't need to worry about being shot. Skull hadn't done anything to his body that left lasting marks, and given what he remembered of Skull's tastes that was saying something.

A few more hours. He had to wait a few more hours. 

_Skull. What's your next play?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad so many people enjoyed the story. Thank you!


	3. Memories, all alone in the moonlight

Current statistics said that Omega symptoms manifested in no more than one in one hundred. Of that group, the majority were born female bodied. Male-born Omegas were roughly on par with female Alphas; approximately one in five hundred. However, the report did note the possibility of Omega status being under reported due to the stigma against them.

Alpha or Omega genes could be screened for now, but testing at birth wasn't standard. It was speculated that the genetic potential for either trait was far more widespread than originally assumed; the potential triggers for each condition were still little understood...

Steve put the tablet he had borrowed from SHIELD, which held his test results, in his desk. He doubted that any of his teammates would go through his things, but he didn't want someone asking questions he didn't yet feel comfortable answering.

Back in his time, Omega status was close to a death sentence if it was discovered. You were shunned, beaten, forced to flee or hide by any means necessary. Families would send such children away. It was possible for a male-born Omega to leave and take on a conventionally feminine role; everyone heard stories, and Alphas who were born female were treated much the same way. The shift meant you were a bogey man, something outside the norm, horrifying to those who were born one thing and stayed the same way their entire lives. 

Steve remembered puberty like the hell it had been: his body scorched through with a bone deep fever and a twisted writhing through his guts, then the shock of waking up to find his body was different. His mother had lived long enough to nurse him through it, to help him deal with the change and help him hide. His health had been poor beforehand, but the effects of the fever had left him weak... which was a blessing in disguise. He was never healthy enough to have a full heat, to produce the scent that would have made hiding far more difficult than just making sure no one saw him naked. 

Then, there had been The War. 

Dying young had never been in doubt for Steve; his body was frail, and always one cold away from dying of pneumonia. His secret meant that if the wrong people discovered his sex, at best, he would be killed outright. At the worst, he would be shunned, lose his job and would die of starvation and sickness on the street. So he was forced to keep people at arms' length, no matter how lonely it was. 

The opportunity to work in Project: Rebirth had given him the first chance to do something meaningful. Of course he jumped in with both feet.

Doctor Erskine had known. He had personally examined Steve, and had told him that the purpose of his serum was to create a soldier capable of exceeding an Alpha. Not just in strength, but in control, and the ability to lead other men into battle without an Alpha's innate territoriality getting in the way. 

Steve had been afraid to ask about the other part. The part about hoping the serum would allow his body to go back to the way it used to be, before the fever. 

Erskine must have seen the question in Steve's eyes, because his expression had been a mix of pain and pity. "The serum makes good better, and bad becomes worse. If everything goes right, it should make you strong and fit, improving everything you had, but it won't change this." He had taken Steve's hands then, and fixed him with a look. "This is something that isn't broken in you, Steven. Being an Omega is something that is neither good or bad. It is no more evil than your hair color. While society says that it is wrong, often, so is society. The serum will take you to the peak of your potential, which may mean making you incredibly strong, agile, and more intelligent... and, because you are an Omega, very fertile."

Steve had nearly swallowed his tongue. "Doc-"

"I have taken this possibility into account." Erskine chuckled. "I have already prepared a ointment that should neutralize the scent. You will not have frequent, or particularly painful, heats after the serum and Mr. Stark has helped me with a prosthesis that should work better than the socks you had been using." His smile was gentle and understanding- and Steve had felt, for the first time, that someone knew him and liked him for what he was, rather than who they wanted him to be. 

It would be a very long time until the second.

That person happened to have been Bucky.

Steve left his room in the Tower, grabbing a few heavy bags and twisting his head to work the kinks out of his neck. Fury had sent the test results a few days ago: they could detect no injuries beyond his hormones being unbalanced, which would lead to the mother of all fertile cycles in the next few weeks. There was a warning to be careful; even with the scent neutralizer it would be better if he avoided people when it hit. 

Steve continued down to the gym, mumbling to himself about super-villains not paying attention to his calendar and if Fury really expected him to not go with the team. He wrapped his hands, hung up the bag and grumbled some more. His belly felt bloated.

"Well, soldier. What are you going to do now?"

He tried to lose himself in the rhythm of punching, of breathing and pounding. That, of course, was when the vampires decided to attack.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"All right, Van Helsing, you want to tell us how you're such an expert on vampires?" Clint spat later, after Steve loaded his pockets with the strike disks and explained their purpose to Falcon. They were spread out in the Avenjet's seats, checking equipment as Tony puttered around in the makeshift lab in the back. Widow, who had acted like an exhausted and broken shell since waking up, refused to acknowledge anyone. She was babbling softly, strapped to an exam bench.

Steve hesitated, then looked away. "Back during the war, Dracula and our country were... _uneasy_... allies. Hydra was trying to attack Transylvania. Dracula was defending his lands. We needed Transylvania to stay neutral, because we couldn't afford for Hydra to flank us. The enemy of my enemy sort of thing." Steve tried to keep his face neutral but his lips twisted in fear and distaste. 

"Right. You, working with a vampire. That's not exactly weird."

"We had a pact, one that even he couldn't break. He knew I would keep up my end of the bargain." Steve kept a rigid grip on his self control. Still, he could see Hulk's nostrils flair and Tony stirred from the back to come towards them. "But something must have changed."

"Why is he after you now?" Thor asked. 

"Dracula is a king. He takes what he wants. I must have something he wants," Steve said, double-checking to make sure his pockets were secure.

"And you don't know what that is?" Clint put down his stake arrows, and took a glance back at the whimpering, muttering Black Widow. Her body trembled.

"No. But finding out is our only chance to save Natasha. Whatever it is, though, it must have been worth violating our pact."

"And this pact was..?" Tony asked, trailing off as he crossed his arms. 

"I gave him something valuable in return for his non-aggression against my troops and myself so long as Hydra was a danger to his lands. He wouldn't be able to hurt us so long as we continued fighting Hydra," Steve answered. "Dracula only cared about Hydra when Hydra was trying to oust him. Beyond that, it was a human matter."

Tony's face plate came up. "Something valuable? Could this be what-"

"No."

"What was it that-"

"He wanted something _from me_ , Tony. And I gave it to him." Steve looked down. "That's how he knows he can get me to go to Transylvania. I've traded with him before."

Tony's glared down at Steve. "Relax. You aren't going to go all martyr complex on us today, Steve." He took a long, deep breath, and frowned even more deeply. "And what the hell are you doing, Clint? Wooden stake arrows?"

"Why not? I mean, Van Helsing over here is using silver- does wood work, too?"

Steve nodded. "Silver, sunlight, and wood. Never saw religious iconography work."

"It does not matter," Thor rumbled. "Mjolnir will smite them all the same."

"Well, nice to know we have all the angles covered. But don't worry. I'll figure out what's wrong. Maybe it's nano-tech... "

Stark grabbed a large needle to get a sample of Widow's blood, continuing to rant and rave about the marvels of modern science. Then Tony gave Steve a long look, and lightly put his hand on Steve's shoulder.

Steve looked away, and lost himself in memory.

~*~*~*~*~

At first brush, Bucky was someone Cap wasn't sure he would like. Bucky was impulsive, a cynic, and thought with his fists more than his head. Yet the kid... the kid had a good heart.

 _He's only four years younger than you_ , General Philips had reminded him when they met. Steve found himself shrugging. James (My friends call me Bucky,) was a talented brawler and unafraid to do the dirty work that Steve wasn't supposed to touch.

Not that Steve needed another layer of guilt associated with Bucky. He had met his share of lying boys in the army, but never one who had been asked to do more dirty work than your average G.I.

But Bucky proved himself. Still, he had a bad habit of talking first without his brain engaging. This was never more obvious than when they went to the talkies. The first time Bucky made an Omega joke about the boy playing Bucky made Steve stop, silent, staring at the gravel and breathing hard to keep his usually slow temper from firing. 

Bucky was young. He had no idea he had met Omegas. Omegas, as far as he knew, existed only in bawdy stories and ugly jokes. The kid was an Alpha (Steve could smell it. The way Bucky got defensive when anyone started talking to Steve or anyone else who was part of 'his' territory made it obvious, on top of his already impressive physical abilities) and had been treated with the sort of wary respect an Alpha received in times of war. Alphas, male and female, were typically impressive warriors. They were just unable to cooperate with each other, or even with people outside of their personally defined territories. 

It hurt, though. Steve had gotten used to people treating him with respect and he had never, ever expected to hear that from his partner. 

"Cap?"

He didn't answer. He wasn't sure he could. He had gotten close to Bucky in the past few months of their partnership, had started to trust the boy. Might even have considered telling him... but no. He couldn't. 

"Yeah?" Oh, he felt such shame that he couldn't keep the crack out of his voice.

"What's wrong?"

It took a moment for Steve to work spit into his dry mouth. "You really think that? That Omegas, or queers, really are just..."

Bucky turned back, his face blank with surprise. "Well, um..." Steve knew Bucky saw the disapproval on his face. There was no way he could miss it. "They're just sort of... the idea of suddenly transforming into a dame, or having another guy after your tail, it just..."

"Right." Steve let his voice go cold. "Like Omegas have any choice, or queers actually hurt people by loving other men. I thought we were _fighting_ the monsters who were out to kill them. My mistake."

Bucky shrank back. In the time they had been together, Steve had never had to stay anything uncomplimentary towards Bucky. He had only been gentle. That Steve would, even mildly, chastise him _now_ seemed to make Bucky realize that whatever else he thought, Steve clearly disagreed. 

"Come on, Cap, it's not like that..."

Steve crossed his arms and lifted an eyebrow. 

"We don't round up Omegas or queers here, but we don't exactly welcome them with open arms either," Steve pointed out. "Same with lots of other people. Sure, we aren't putting them in gas chambers but beatings happen. Lynching happens. _Worse_ happens. Police turn a blind eye." 

"Steve." Bucky had his shoulders hunched up. If Steve had genuinely been another Alpha, smelling like Alpha and otherwise acting like an Alpha, Bucky would have been spoiling for a fight. As it was, Bucky looked almost ashamed. "Okay. You made your point. I won't do it again. I just... I've never met a breeder- I mean, an Omega- and just... okay. Okay. I got it."

Steve exhaled. "Bucky. I saw a friend of mine beaten to death by his father when he changed. The police did nothing." He didn't mention that was the catalyst for his mother to keep his change a secret. "I grew up in a rough neighborhood. He died afraid, in pain, and by the person who should have loved and protected him. I was too small and weak to help."

Bucky nodded again, but there was shame on his face now. "I get you. Promise."

Steve nodded, and hoped it wouldn't come up again.

~*~*~*~*~

Of course, it came up again.

Bucky grew like a weed, eating almost as much as Steve himself, and adding inches to his height and shoulders. His Alpha-temper often reared its head, butting up against their allies during their battles. In particular, he would run straight into his highness, the King of Atlantis, the Sub-Mariner. 

The Invaders was not a permanent group. The Human Torch and Toro both had other jobs to do, and the King of Atlantis, Namor, often was called to his own duties. So while they would get be together for many battles, Steve and Bucky were often assigned the Howling Commandos. They were a good, solid team, and Jack Fury proved himself over and over again.

The problem would be that Bucky and Jack were both Alphas. 

Steve's brand new, healthy body wasn't prone to headaches, but this came close.

Yet their closeness had been great. Steve hadn't had someone in his life to care about (and all the stories about Omegas and their nurturing instincts stayed below the surface) and the constant presence of Bucky had been a balm on his soul. He had a brother, a friend. 

Someone he would do anything for. 

Speaking of which...

They were somewhere in Romania that night, and he and Bucky had been bivouacked in an abandoned barn in the shadow of a ruined castle. The locals had warned them to stay away as they investigated Hydra's latest monstrosities. 

Bucky hadn't come back yet. 

Bucky had gotten to an age where Girls, particular any female near her fertile period, were almost irresistible to him. Steve made sure to make him understand that forcing himself on someone was wrong, that being an Alpha didn't entitle him to her affections no matter what his instincts said. He had followed it up with the promise of disciplinary action if he ever heard of Bucky hurting someone.

"I wouldn't!" Bucky had protested, even as Steve had nodded.

"I know, but I still need to remind you." He licked his lips. "I don't mind it if you find someone for the night, but you take protection and-"

Bucky had frantically flapped his hands in protest. "I know, I know! Honestly, I'm just going to grab a drink down with the boys. It's creepy when you act like my Dad! You're not _that_ much older than me-"

Steve rolled his eyes, but shifted his weight. Bucky was pumping out scent, the kind that said he was aroused, wanting to get laid, and that he was more than ready to get the next fertile person he met knocked up. He was close to a rut.

While regular people would _react_ to those scents- he had heard some of the scientists refer to the so-called normal population as Betas- they wouldn't recognize them. No one would have an easy time turning Bucky down. Any other Alpha that caught his scent would immediately try to defend his territory. There was little chance the night wouldn't end with either Bucky in a fight or charming a local girl into a closet or dark corner. 

Steve wanted to go with him to limit the damage. Right now, the best he could do was tell Jack Fury what was going on and ask him to keep his distance. Jack had the benefit of his father being an Alpha, and the experience of controlling himself for years. He understood what being an Alpha entailed and that the stress they were all under triggered almost-ruts at unexpected intervals. Hopefully that would keep Jack out of Bucky's way and avoid a brawl.

He could feel Bucky's eyes on him, and felt his stomach sink when Bucky took a step too close to Steve and inhaled.

"You want to come with us?" Bucky asked, hooking his thumb in the direction of the pub. He put a hand on Steve's shoulder and gave a squeeze. His gaze, though, was confused. 

Steve took a step back. "Sorry, partner. Got to see what happened to that supply line." He stepped back again, his boots scuffing the floor and missing the warmth of Bucky's hand on his shoulder. "Just wanting to make sure you don't do something stupid."

"Come on, Cap." Bucky's grin was cheeky, but his cheeks were flushed and the faint lines of a semi-wood were visible through the cloth of his pants. His eyes were bright. "Relax. Have a drink." He took a step closer and Steve again stepped away, making Bucky frown. "What's..."

Steve forced a smile. "Just going to leave the floor open for you." He lifted an eyebrow and turned the smile into a smirk. "You know that when I'm there that I get more attention-"

Bucky snorted, then relaxed, disappointed. "Sure thing, Cap. Never mind. Don't say you weren't invited." He brushed past Steve and out into the night, and Steve closed the barn door behind him.

When he couldn't see, hear, or smell Bucky anymore, Steve let himself slide to the floor and muffled a groan with his arm. 

Steve hadn't been this wet before in his life.

 _Omega slut, breeder, bitch_ , they would call him if he was found like this. Whore. Freak. Names that would mean the loss of his freedom. 

He bit his lip as he struggled to his feet, breathing hard as he shuffled behind a hay pile and dropping his pants and cup. He came almost as soon as he slid two fingers over his pussy, and his other hand wrapped around his dick. 

Sadly, it wasn't enough. He shuddered through the first small orgasm and kept going, feeling as a starving man who had just gotten a whiff of food. Not enough, it was maddening, because he could _feel_ the small barrier inside himself and he was loathe to break it despite the desperately _empty_ feeling. He could hear himself breathing, harsh and deep in the cold night, could hear the soft wet squelch and swallowed down a whimper.

He came again, and again, he didn't know how long, and it helped. He didn't feel like he was about to go after Bucky or Jack or Namor and ask for something that would get him a blue ticket home. Hell, odds were he wouldn't be the one getting the ticket. It would be Bucky or Jack, and a lavender marriage for Steve. Captain America was too public, but if anyone found out...

Steve pulled his hands free, looking at the slick, clear cum on both hands and grimaced. He got out his handkerchief, cleaning himself up as best he could, before heading to the well in the bard yard and getting a bucket of icy water to dump over his head.

He needed to get Bucky out in the field, scouting, for a few days. That, or to go out into the field himself. Most of the time, Steve was fine with down time. It gave him time to prepare, time to plan. Time to get to know his men and their hopes, their dreams. Now, he felt like his skin was two sizes too small. He felt like howling. 

It had been almost a year since the serum, and six months since he had shipped out to Europe. His first fertile cycle had been mild. Some cramps, a faint need, and a short bleed followed. The second had been more intense, but nothing unbearable. 

Steve filled up the bucket again, letting the cold make his body brace and shudder as the cold hit it. 

He had to _focus_. He had to pay attention. He had to- wait.

He blinked up at the moon, which was hanging low in the sky. A quick walk back to the barn and to his watch confirmed it; it was getting on towards dawn. Steve was fine without much sleep, but usually Bucky was back by now. 

Even if Bucky had found compatible companionship, he usually didn't stay for long. He had duties to perform in the morning. Bucky could be headstrong, but he never shirked. 

Steve frowned, putting down the bucket and stripping the water off his skin; all he had been wearing was his pants. 

A faint blur caught his eye-

"There you are," Steve said in relief. Bucky was looking at him, face unnaturally pale in the moonlight. "I take it you had a good night?"

Bucky didn't answer. In fact, his face didn't move at all. That was why Steve was so surprised when Bucky lunged forward, fist flying too fast for Steve to block it. 

Steve crumpled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story, I admit, is a bit of a mess. There are plot holes from AA I want to fix, I want to write a Cap mpreg, I want to write the history with Dracula... all of these would make good individual stories, but at the same time, I don't want to write all of them, so I'm trying to jam them together. Oi.


	4. Prior claims

Tony stepped out of the Avenjet with the rest of his team, scanners on full and alert for any movement. Given that these so-called 'vampires' didn't breathe, didn't have heart beats or any other vital signs, it meant detecting them would be very, very difficult.

It also meant he had a front row seat for Steve's vitals, which were nearly double what they usually were. 

Steve Rogers faced down Asgardian demi-gods, intergalactic mostly-gods, and any number of scary, unworldly creatures. The man shouldn't have been sweating, his heart racing. There was a faint tremor in his hands that had no place coming from Captain America.

In fact, Steve had been acting pretty strange, even for a guy who had trouble figuring out a microwave. (Well, he had been asking questions on how to use it. The first time he had lived in the mansion.) He had been quiet, brooding off in his corner, going to punch his heavy bags and not much else. Granted, Steve had been like that a _lot_ after his un-thawing, but he had started to lighten up. To smile. He had started teaching Tony how to fight, Tony had taught Steve how to use a smart phone and they had complimented each other almost perfectly.

He and Steve were on point with Clint and Thor both guarding Hulk and Natasha (not that Hulk needed it, but he was carrying Natasha) as they exited into what appeared to be a really, really, _really_ old graveyard with a giant castle behind it. It looked like something out of an old horror- no. No. He was _not_ letting's Cap's vampire talk get to him. This was just a badly kept castle in a creepy, shadowed valley with bad weather in desperate need of a groundskeeper. 

Despite themselves, the deathly pall of the place pressed in, and Tony found himself bunching up with Hulk and Thor despite himself as Steve adjusted his shield. 

"Is it always nighttime here?" Clint muttered, shuddering in the damp, soul-sucking fog.

" _Yes, bowman. My kingdom lives in eternal night,_ " the fog answered, breezing through their party before condensing into the form of a pale man. Tony blinked, because his sensors were telling him that _nothing was there_ , but something was. It also had Steve breathing like a bellows.

" _Good evening, Avengers. I see you received my_... invitation." The man's teeth, needle sharp, were bared in a smile under blood red eyes. The form then dissolved again into fog, blowing apart and reforming a bare half-meter away from Steve's face. 

" _So_ , curvă," Dracula purred. " _My offer. Your life for the woman's. You have accepted my offer before. Are you willing to do so again?_ "

Tony was grateful for his face plate as JARVIS ran through a translation. Because there was no way that some horror movie reject had just called Steve Rogers, Captain Chastity Belt, the guy who seemed to ignore every warm blooded person on the planet because Duty... a _slut_.

Not that there was anything wrong with that. He fully supported Steve's right to sleep with whomever... _whatever_... but for some reason he didn't get the feeling that Drac was using that word as a pet-slash- playfully kinky way. 

Tony tried to take in the implications. The nausea that followed promptly shut down that line of thinking.

It got a lot worse when Steve gave a short, choppy nod.

Tony realized he wasn't the only one who was pissed- _no one_ insulted Cap around the Avengers except the Avengers- because Hawkeye's bow came up a split second later.

"Looks like you need some new headshots, Drac, you look nothing like your pictures," Clint cracked as he loosed- almost before he finished talking. The man in the red armor vanished as the arrow struck.

Steve stared at Clint in horror. "You have no idea what you've just started-"

"Or finished!" Clint snarled.

The breath of fog reassembled itself, stealing Black Widow before they could grab her. " _Given our previous history_ , curvă, _I was going to make this as painless as possible._ " His hands drew slowly down Natasha's shoulders, brushing over her sides to encircle her waist as Dracula pulled her to his chest. " _But I see that my mercy is not wanted._ " 

Darkness struck, and Tony backed away from the ring of vampires that surrounded him. Then JARVIS informed him that vampires apparently didn't permanently die from damage that would put most people in the dirt. The best they could do was make them disperse temporarily.

Tony kinda realized what about the vampires that made Steve so freaked out- because they just kept coming.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Memories were a weird, colorless blur after awhile.

Bucky's last clear impression had been heading into a small, dimly lit tavern with the rest of the Howling Commandos, nodding in a friendly way at the locals and flashing an absent smile at the pretty bar maid.

She smiled back at him, cheeks dimpling as she held his gaze. She was blond, with blue eyes and tall, someone he would normally consider his type. Bucky dropped the girl's eyes first. 

He had huffed the air, catching nothing interesting. No unfamiliar Alphas... and no one quite as interesting as Cap.

"You okay, kid?" a voice asked, and Bucky forced down a growl as Jack Fury walked in beside him. 

"Fine." He had gotten the lecture on Jack so many times now he could recite it in his sleep. He was better than that. His instincts didn't rule him. Jack had a lot of experience so it was smart to listen to him. Bucky, I'm not an Alpha so I can't tell you how to be one, but Jack is. Don't start any dumb fights because his dick is bigger.

He had promptly told Steve _is not_ and had been enough of a punk to show him. 

Steve had rolled his eyes and asked if Bucky really thought Steve had bothered to check out Jack at the latrine. His ears had turned red when he said it. 

That memory, somehow, always brought a smile to Bucky's face.

It was that memory that kept him in enough good humor (that, and the fact that no one there had caught his interest) that he didn't lunge for Jack right then.

"I'm surprised you're here," Jack said as he gestured and the pretty maid brought over two beers with a lascivious wink. "Letting Cap out of your sight right now seems kinda strange."

Bucky frowned, and took a deep breath, trying not to bear his teeth and instead focusing on his beer, taking a long gulp. He wasn't really supposed to be allowed to drink, but most everyone turned a blind eye- Steve included- because he was doing adult work. He was seventeen, eighteen in a few weeks, and fighting in a goddamn war. He could have a beer.

"I wanted him to come, but you know the Captain. Duty first." He was only slightly bitter about that. Slightly. 

"Yeah. That's why I'm here risking a fight with your scrawny ass instead of finishing my own work," Jack muttered. He shifted in his seat, and took a sip of his own beer. "I'm just shocked you could _leave_."

Bucky met Jack's eyes and looked away, his stomach twisting. "Why?" His stupid crush on Steve couldn't have been that obvious, right? He just has a crush. A little one. Because Captain America had been his hero, then his friend, and they lived in each other's pocket. Because Steve blushed when Bucky teased him. Because he gave a damn about Bucky. Because he had a glorious ass. Because right now, Steve smelled fucking edible and Bucky was _starving_.

"Because I wanted to bend him over so bad I almost choked on it."

Bucky couldn't stop the growl this time, fingers digging in to the unpolished, gray wood of the table as he leapt to his feet. His teeth were bared, anger that someone would be interested in _his_ \- 

That was the last clear memory, with light and colors. Now he was cold, sleeping, feeling everything through thick gloves. There were flashes of hunger, excitement, following the Master's will. Just that. The Master wanted something... and the Master's will was his own. 

The Master wanted a war, to pit two foes against each other. It was too easy to sneak up on his target, given to him by his Master. The blond soldier was exhausted, soaked from head to foot, wearing nothing but his pants. Bucky knocked the soldier unconscious, met up with the Others, and they started the march towards the lair of their Master.

Dawn was coming. Soon they would need to find shelter. The Others, the rest of the people with Bucky when he had been Changed, would-

The attack came without warning, an ironic echo of how he took down the Soldier like it was nothing. He and the Others were outnumbered, attacked out of the dark by creatures even stronger than they.

The Master's presence, in the back of Bucky's mind, laughed as they were struck down.

The Master didn't anticipate the arrival of the King of the Vampires in that small, dark, wooded clearing.  
Suddenly Bucky could see, could hear and feel as Steve staggered to his feet. In the pale light of the setting moon Steve looked like a wraith as he stood, even as the rest of the Others... the _Howling Commandos_ ... all fell to their knees and cowered. 

The Vampire King stood before them, his talons ripping through the bonds that bound him to... to that thing. The thing that had stolen into the damn tavern, a shadow as the drug in the beer caught them all. The thing that had stolen his will and made him hurt Steve, who was staggering towards the Vampire King like he could block him from hurting the Howling Commandos. The Howlies, who were hissing and spitting in pain as the Vampire King stood, his mind a great gulping void that eclipsed the Master and now...

"What are you doing to them? Who are you?" Steve rasped, arms spread wide. 

The Vampire King ignored him. 

"Hey!"

"Steve, don't," Bucky managed to bite out (dear god _he had too many teeth_ ) but it brought the Vampire King's ( _how do I know who he is?_ ) attention on to him. Bucky shuddered, getting to his feet despite the shriek of two forces tearing at his skull. He tried to go to Cap, but-

King Dracula grabbed Bucky by the neck. " _Tell me, little one, before I kill you. Who dares to infringe on my territory?_ "

A voice not his own slithered from his tongue, making his back arch in pain even as he plucked at King Dracula's hands. He could only hear the words, dimly, down a long tunnel as the world faded away. 

The last thing he knew, besides seeing Steve's horrified face, was the sound of Dracula, King of the Vampires, laughing in his mind.

_"My so-called 'Baron Blood,' your challenge is accepted."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, life is busy. Conferences, making lessons, debate matches... oi. Life. So this is taking it's sweet time getting written. Also, I had a great time researching the history of birth control for this fic. Doing that kind of thing is a good reminder of how far those with ovaries and a uterus have come in the last hundred years. 
> 
> Effective birth control is a beautiful thing.
> 
> It's something I rarely see in A/B/O fic, beyond pills, that there might be other methods. Of course, given that there is inevitable mpreg involved, such a thing is usually set up to fail. Though it is pretty interesting to look in to.


	5. Cold as ice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content note: this part is pretty explicitly non-con, coerced sex. Steve doesn't have a choice and both parties know it, though Dracula is trying to wiggle around it.

Peggy had been the one to sit Steve down and give him The Talk.

As Steve had come to understand it, the job had been passed off to several different people. General Philips had outright refused, citing inexperience. The job had then passed then to the medical staff, but only one doctor in London knew directly about Steve's condition, and after his first 'examination,' Steve had refused to see him again in person. That left Howard, who had some experience in the topic at hand but, well, no _firsthand_ experience.

Steve had stayed in the pea soup green examination room for all of two minutes after the nurse had left, intent on heading back to Supply to check on the equipment order he had put in for the Howlies, when Peggy found him. Her expression was stern, lips spread into a frown and she was holding a small, discreet medical bag. She took him by the arm and lead him to a small meeting room, firmly closing and locking the door behind them.

That was how Peggy Carter found out that Steve Rogers was an Omega.

"It looks like I'm the only person brave enough to talk to you about this, and the only person with the willingness to believe that human nature cannot be changed," she began without preamble, stuffing Steve into a chair and starting to pace in front of him. "Nor that it is a sin. So, Steve." Her gaze was pitying, and Steve realized she _knew_. "Has anyone talked to you about babies?" She sighed and leaned back against the long table in the room. 

Steve opened his mouth, and shut it again. He licked his lips and tried again. "Peggy..."

Her smile was weak. "I wish you would have told me earlier. I know why not, but." She exhaled, and ducked her eyes. "This changes things." This time she licked her lips. "And it falls to me, since your doctor is apparently a wanker. And no one else wanted to tell you. So, your orders are this: no one outside of General Philips, Howard Stark, your attending physician here, and I am to know you are not the great Alpha soldier you appear to be. Ever. And that translates as, and to quote your doctor 'Don't go whoring around.' With anyone, no matter what is between their legs. Which is bloody _stupid_ , cruel and unfair. You're being asked to risk your life. If you want to enjoy some pleasure, you should be able to." 

Steve felt his face go pale. "Peggy- I _haven't_ \- it's not that big deal. I couldn't let anyone know before..."

"Sometimes it's not your choice, Steve." Peggy's lips curved in a humorless smile. "Women aren't the only victims in war. You're discovered by the enemy... well, I don't think I need to tell you the potential consequences, do I?"

Steve shuddered and shook his head. 

"At any rate, I want you to have this." She put the bag she had been clutching down on the table and opened it up. Inside was a small case, one that would cover the flat of Steve's palm. She popped it open. "These are made specifically for female field agents, not that there are many of us." Inside was a diaphragm. "You can keep it in for up to forty-eight hours, and the spermicidal jelly with it should last up to twenty-four. Your doctor may be a wanker but he was able to deduce your measurements at your last exam." She exhaled. "Steve, this is _vital_. You must avoid, at all costs, getting pregnant. There are a few assholes here, on our side, who would do who-knows-what with a malleable infant- let alone the _enemy_ -"

Steve choked. "What- but-"

"Steve, you are a good man." She took his hands and squeezed them. "And you would be a magnificent parent. But if it happens while the fighting is still going on? The brass can't afford for you to be found out, so you'll be forced to terminate. If you want the baby, you hide it, and somehow bring the pregnancy to term? The brass will take it away to either be a lab rat or raised to be _their_ creature." 

Steve met her eyes. "You think they would? Actually do that?" he whispered, clasping his hands together and then pressing them to his lips. Up until the serum, pregnancy would likely have killed him. Most female Omegas died from a dozen pregnancies one right after the other. Most like him were lucky to survive the first three, if they survived to get pregnant at all.

Peggy let out a puff of air. "I don't know. Not for sure. You've got them by the short hairs here, Steve. It's possible that the _only_ way to make more Super Soldiers is for you to bear them. If you ever _stop_ being useful as a soldier and symbol, you might find yourself kenneled and bred. But the only thing I can tell you for certain is that your life will be a lot less complicated if you do not get yourself in the family way."

Her tone became even more stern. "So, you are going to listen to me on how to use this and then you will take it with you and you will use it out in the field. Or you'll get more than a tongue lashing when I find out!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Bucky Barnes was not alone in his head.

That was creeping him out. A lot.

The Vampire King had ordered the fledglings to his castle, forbidding them from feeding. They, the Howlies, were huddled along the halls of Castle Dracula in dissatisfaction and discomfort; the craving for blood was just tickle, an itch at the back of the throat, but within a few days they would not be able to withstand the temptation. There was a sense in Bucky's mind of the Vampire King's displeasure at this, and his will was actively suppressing the change and the thirst. 

But the cost was the feeling of him in Bucky's mind. Like being a puppet.

It was disconcerting, because he could feel the Vampire King rifling through his memories and feelings like old clothes. He could feel-

_-Hands steady despite the wind blowing over his cover as he waited to take the shot-_

_-the time on the train, the first time he had taken a life-_

_-the moment he had gotten a look, a_ good _look at Steve without his shirt-_

Dracula was amused, judging each memory with appreciation for the kills, disdain for the soft moments. 

There were more. There was contempt for his loss as his sister left, when his father and mother died, the struggle as he and his dad had tried to make life normal for Becky. The first time he had looked up at Steve on the silver screen and the awe he felt. The training, his friendship with Toro, his first love and the first time he tumbled a girl, pissing off Namor, all of it was laid bare before the Vampire King who couldn't understand the joy and sorrows of an average Joe like him. 

Dracula was curious, though, about his feelings for Cap. He picked over them as he inspected the ragged edges, the tears and half-assed mends. Steve wasn't perfect, but he was a good man, a kind one, beautiful and ...

There was a flush of dark humor and Bucky felt dizzy. He realized he still sitting in the great hall, with its roaring fireplace and throne, but he could see a bed. A bed that hadn't there a second ago, and it had Steve's shield leaning against it. Steve himself had appeared, somehow, wearing his drab olive uniform instead of his bright combat gear. 

" _What's this?_ " Steve asked, but the noise was tinny. Tinny and distant. 

He felt a soft rumble from his own chest as he answered, but Bucky wasn't the one speaking. Bucky got to his feet, walking forward, towards Cap-

-but he never got closer-

Steve didn't look at him, but he could feel that voice in his chest continue talking. There was sigh, and Bucky realized he could hear Steve's heart beating, fast and powerful, breathing stuttering from nerves. Bucky swallowed, because Steve looked _nervous_ , and the look made Bucky feel like somehow the world was ending.

That made Dracula seem all the more amused.

~*~*~*~*~

"All right, how do you do that?" Hawkeye asked, as they raced through the halls of Dracula's castle.

Steve stopped and turned back, searching Clint's face. "Do what?"

"Know where Dracula's bedroom is?"

Steve narrowed his eyes, and behind him he could hear Falcon choke and sputter. The kid, Steve noted, was exceptionally bright. He was taking Dracula's insults and actions and Steve's knowledge, then making an intuitive leap. Too bad Clint was scratching his head and looking confused. 

Steve licked his lips. "Furthest from the sun."

"I was just about to say that!"

Steve was about to turn away when Falcon caught his eye and lifted an eyebrow. Steve lowered his eyes and shook his head. If Clint couldn't put two and two together with a dirty mind then Steve wasn't going to enlighten him. 

He turned, racing towards Dracula's chambers. Too bad he couldn't outrun the memories.

~*~*~*~

Dracula's great weakness has always been sunlight. And now, apparently, he was facing one of his own kind. One that had aligned itself with HYDRA and could somehow walk in the daylight. A vampire that could, potentially, rob Dracula of his place as Vampire King.

Dracula was not happy about that.

He was even less happy about aligning himself with a mortal. Even if that mortal was Captain America.

Steve walked into Dracula's chambers, feeling the chill damp being driven out by the roaring fire on the opposite wall. There was a circle drawn in salt on the floor, surrounding a massive bed that looked to have come out of a Medieval painting, draped in crimson velvet and sable. 

" _Mind where you step, Captain._ "

Steve whirled, spinning on his heel as he brought up his shield on instinct.

In the shadows, Dracula lounged, right ankle resting on left knee and with his head tilted to the side. Glowing red eyes were all Steve could make out of his face, but Steve had the impression he was smirking. 

" _You are here of your own will?_ "

Steve wanted to bear his teeth. "In a manner of speaking."

" _Good. Remove your clothes._ "

The room wasn't frigid, but the fire warmed Steve's front only as he set his shield against the huge bed, and fished the small case Peggy had given him out of his pocket. First he unbuttoned and folded his shirt, then repeated the same for his pants. His underwear followed as he left them stacked outside the odd circle drawn on the floor. 

He stood there for a moment, nude, the chill air making his large tits tighten to points and ache. He could feel Dracula's eyes on him, and combined with the smell of death in the air, Steve felt vaguely nauseous and a lot uncomfortable... but it meant the effects of his heat were diminished. Given the situation, that was nearly a curse.

He heard a deep chuckle and then a musty wind was in Steve's face and he was tossed backwards, like a doll, over the strange circle on the floor and on to the bed. He landed in a sprawl, legs spread as he struggled to sit up. Dracula materialized out of the dim and loomed over him before planting both of his hands besides Steve's head. His skin was fetid beside Steve's face.

" _Shall we get the most awkward part out of the way, then?_ "

Steve didn't see Dracula's hand disappear, but he felt the edge of Dracula's jagged nails trail up his thigh and to his groin, quickly parting his lips under his limp dick and sliding in to touch him, slick and easy. Steve closed his eyes and fisted velvet and sable as he felt pain, sharp and bright and Dracula was laughing again. He kept laughing as he pulled free his fingers and Steve opened his eyes again to see Dracula lick at the mess on his hand, which was covered in Steve's own wet and blood and suck his fingers like they were candy.

" _If only I didn't need you,_ ” Dracula purred. " _You taste delicious, Captain._ "

All Steve could make out of his face was the glowing eyes and white halo of hair. Dracula's flesh was cold, but that didn't mean Steve couldn't feel Dracula's erection against his hip. 

"Wait."

To his surprise... Dracula paused.

"I'm." Steve tried not to cringe away from the icy flesh and the way it siphoned away his body heat. "Can you-"

Dracula lifted an eyebrow and laughed again. " _Fear not, Captain. Despite your body crying to be bred, my seed will not quicken your womb. The undead cannot make new life._ "

Steve didn't really relax, but he did allow his thighs to spread as Dracula picked him up and... He found a spot on the ceiling with interesting molding. He focused on that, on the shadows that crawled and danced in snapping music of the fire. The heavy weight shifted, and Steve shuddered at the cold spreading him open, moving shamefully easy from the heat-slick. 

The rest was a blur of bed-creaks and the sigh of fabric and pressure and sharp sparks of pain underneath a feeling of being filled. The damned _hunger_ that had been driving him mad for the past two days was being fed rancid meat. Any arousal he might have felt was mingled with disgust as his body was used.

Dracula didn't take long; there was a moment where he sped up, a stutter in his pace, and Steve's bones shivered when the vampire came. Another soft, amused chuckle issued from the Vampire King as he dragged his rough, slimy tongue over Steve's throat. 

" _Forgive me, Captain. It seems that my hospitality has been inadequate._ " He sat back and pulled out, and Steve got up on his elbows. " _The spell requires more than just_ this," Dracula said, gesturing with the hand that had been colored red with Steve's blood. " _It requires you to lose your innocence, as well as your self-control. It seems I cannot force them from you._ "

Dracula's smirk was a strange duality of amused and frustrated as he evaporated, only to materialize underneath Steve, frigidly cold against his back and pinning his arms at his sides, spreading his legs. Steve didn't understand until he looked up and couldn't cover himself. His groin was bared, naked, lips gaping open in front of the one person he had trusted the most but could never be completely honest with.  
The almost-man who had haunted his fantasies and was absolutely the last person Steve wanted to see there.  
Bucky.  


" _However, I believe your young friend will be more than capable of making your first time... memorable._ "

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is taking place a lot more in flashback than I had anticipated, but writing Steve's life in the past is pretty interesting...


	6. Dreams and nightmares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content note for more dubious consent.

Bucky wasn't sure how he found himself outside the weathered wooden red door, on the north side of the Vampire's castle, watching it glide open on silent hinges. 

He was pretty sure he had been in the throne room a moment ago. He was just as sure he wasn't the one telling his body to step forward.

_I have a treat for you, child._

The scent that would have Bucky trailing after some dame like a lost puppy and fighting any other man that came close was thick and heavy over the bed. Warm, sweet, and it slithered down his pants to wrap long, hot fingers around his dick. His mouth watered as he approached, closing his eyes.

_Delightful, isn't it? Come here._

He was familiar with being in a near-rut. It was usually brought on by the scent of a dame he could knock up, or being in a bad fight. Instinct kicked out his brain, and he was left reacting, logical thought long gone. All he knew was either to fuck or to fight. Cap was usually able to snap him out of it, but only because he had no idea what he wanted _from_ Cap when it happened: a fight, or a fuck. Right now, though, with that scent in the air, he definitely knew what he wanted. 

Bucky stopped at the end of the bed, stepping carefully over the circle of salt that encircled it. There was still movement in the shadows, but his feet refused to propel him further. His hands moved, of their own volition, stripped off his top then his pants and tossed them to the floor. His dick was already at half-mast, and he reached down to stroke himself.

That was when the movement on the bed stopped and Bucky could approach and-

"Bucky?"

Cap. It was _Cap_ on the bed. Cap, who smelled like need and desperation, blood and pain, being pinned from behind by pale arms and is looking up at him like he's about to get hit by a tank. 

Cap, whose legs were hooked open by Dracula's knees, had a small dick. Barely four inches. It was starting to get fatter, the more Bucky stared.

Under it, though... under it was the source of the smell that was driving him insane. Under the Steve's dick was a pair of lush, swollen lips that were drenched in slick. Bucky's knees gave out and he edged forward, mouth dropping open as he dipped his fingers into Steve's wet .

Steve jerked like he'd been shot.

"Bucky?" Steve croaked. "What are you doing?"

_Care for a taste?_

There was a soft whisper from behind Cap's head, and Bucky heard him hiss as Bucky brought his dripping fingers to his mouth and then licked them clean.

This. This was it. This was the source of the scent that had him on edge, the reason he had wanted Steve so bad, why he had been up late to jerk off when Steve had turned in for the night. The reason why he started so many fights with Jack. 

Cap- _Steve_ \- was an Omega. Not just an Omega, though... right now, he tasted ripe. Ready. All Bucky would have to do is plant a seed.

A small corner of his mind gibbered in disbelief. Steve _couldn't_ be an Omega. He looked like an Alpha. Fought like an Alpha. Had the strength and stamina of an Alpha. He was everything Bucky aspired to be. _But... he had never_ smelled _like one..._

Without a word he buried his face in Steve's cunt, tongue delving inside for more. He tasted Steve, got his face and chin soaked, but that wetness was mixed with the smell of a stranger and that- that-

"Please," Cap whispered, making a surprised mewl. Bucky saw his eyes flutter. "Bucky. Stop. Don't do this."

 _You're better than this, Bucky,_ Cap had told him. Reminded him that he was more... More than just an Alpha in rut. Cap was _important_. Cap- Steve- had told him that if someone told him _no_ , he wasn't allowed to take what he wanted.

 _You want him. Take him. His body wants it,_ the voice whispered in his mind. _He denies what he wants because he is afraid of it._

Instead of spurring Bucky on, it stopped Bucky dead cold.

"Cap's not afraid of anything," he mumbled, limbs numb as he fought to pull back, and licked Steve's slick from his lips. "I shouldn't."

Steve looked gorgeous: his face and chest were flushed, eyes dilated, tiny dick standing at attention as his abdominals fluttered with each breath. His mouth was lush, plump, and slick coated his thighs. His pheromones were strong enough to choke a horse. Cap's body wanted to be bred... But Cap had told him no.

_You are an Alpha. You are on the verge of becoming a vampire. TAKE WHAT YOU WANT._

That just made Bucky dig in and fight harder. It was also the last thing he remembered before darkness took him.

~*~*~*~*~

"I don't understand. Why are you doing this? We were _allies_ ," Steve said, teeth clenched as he willingly let himself be lead by Dracula to his throne room after they had been ambushed.

Dracula turned to him, sniffing as he dropped Clint and Sam to the floor. For a strange moment his expression was frustrated, _weary,_ as he settled into his throne beside the raging fire. Natasha sat down at his feet, still as Dracula stroked her hair. " _I have a new enemy._ "

"Then tell me about it. We've worked together against common enemies before. We can find a compromise," Steve said, coaxed, really. "We didn't always see eye to eye but we worked together. You know I wouldn't betray you." He shifted his weight, and kept his hands free. 

" _My enemy, oh Captain my Captain, is humanity,_ " Dracula said, leaning back into the darkness that shrouded his throne. Natasha made a soft sound of disquiet from where she was curled against Dracula's knee. " _There are more and more of you humans every century. My kingdom is threatened. I can no longer hide in the shadows of rumor and myth._ "

"Then don't. You're a sovereign ruler. You don't have to be the monsters in the dark anymore. You have a right to defend your lands and to be acknowledged as a sovereign nation. You protect your home like always and humanity leaves you alone," Steve said, taking a step forward, and licking his lips. 

Dracula's red eyes blinked slowly before he lifted an eyebrow. " _You don't really believe that, do you?_ " Dracula's soft chuckled echoed through the cavernous room, and Widow squirmed again. " _You really believe that humanity wouldn't trample across us like a herd of panicked sheep? That we would be safe, sleeping in the day when the world would know we existed and were weak in the light? We are your predators, Captain. My Captain. Do not be naive._ "

"So that's what this is about." Steve hoped the other Avengers would get there in time. He could see where this was going and he readied his shield on his right arm. "Red Skull offered you a way to walk in the sun."

" _The same way that Baron Blood did._ "

Dracula stood, before slamming bodily into Steve and pinning him to the ground. Steve went limp, letting Dracula think him helpless. He would only get one shot at this, and he couldn't turn away from Dracula's rotten stench. "But you know you can't trust the Skull. We had a pact-"

The heavy weight on top of Steve shifted as Dracula leaned forward. " _Our bargain was fulfilled long ago, Captain._ " His fangs grew longer as Steve watched. " _And I am at war. You_ will _give me what I want!_ "

Steve took the moment and swung, putting all of his strength into the blow, and feeling a vicious satisfaction as it knocked clear one of Dracula's razor sharp canines. He followed it up with a knee to Dracula's crotch and Steve was able to scramble to his feet. 

"If you wanted the serum so badly, why didn't Skull give it to you?" Steve taunted, eyes darting for backup. Any backup. "He could. He's got the serum as well."

" _As you have said, I cannot trust him,_ " Dracula purred, circling him, before vanishing in a puff of mist to reform behind Steve. " _But you are a delicacy I have wanted for far too long._ " Arms almost as strong as the Hulk's curled around Steve as Dracula's fetid breath blew over his ear. " _At last..._ "

The arrival of Tony with Hulk and Thor had been godsend- but not even Hulk's thick hide was immune to Dracula's fangs. The scratch was all it took, and Hulk was infected... and so was Dracula, with Hulk's blood.

Well. Didn't that make this day swell.

Steve crawled to Natasha, who had dropped like a clipped puppet when Dracula had attacked Steve. Her reflection in his shield was nearly gone. "Tony, _we're losing her!_ " Not again. He was losing another of his team, _again_.

 

Dracula threatened... but it was _damn_ satisfying to learn that Dracula's eyes were too big for his stomach. Hulk's blood was poisoning him. And getting Hulk angry enough meant they could get him to destroy Castle Dracula why Dracula was writhing in pain on the ground. Somehow that made Steve far happier than it should have.

Up until Dracula proclaimed that the Widow would always be his... and was dragged away underground by his minions.

Boarding the Avenjet after that had been like a funeral procession with Natasha in Clint's arms. Her cheeks had sunken in, her skin becoming loose and papery as her chest stopped moving. If it wasn't for the faint reflection on the smooth finish of Steve's shield, he was almost convinced that she was lost to them. They settled themselves, with Steve and Clint keeping watch on the Widow in the front of the jet with Thor keeping watch over them, just in case.

Tony and Sam had strode to the back of the Avenjet and the tiny laboratory there. There was little noise save for beeps, boops, and the occasional terse request for a sample of Hulk's blood. Hulk, who was quiet and dazed after he had purged Dracula's infection, gave over his arm without a word. Even more silently, he shifted back to Bruce so they could more easily make the blood extraction.

"Come on, Nat," Clint kept whispering, over and over again, cradling her quietly and stroking her hair. "Fight it. You can do this. Please don't..."

Bucky had never been this far gone. And after, he had wrung a promise from Steve. One that Steve had been too weak to keep. "She's not got much time left, Clint," Steve said, getting up and kneeling beside Clint and Natasha. "If she turns completely, she'll be Dracula's slave for eternity. Even if we find Dracula again, and defeat him, even he can't return a fully fledged vampire back to human." They had almost lost a few of the Howlies that way. Steve shoved the memory back down. "Do you want me to... Do you want me to end it?" A few of his men had asked for it, when the pain had gotten too great. Suicide was a mortal sin, but so was ending another's pain. Steve still had nightmares about it. "So she can go as herself?"

Clint's outraged glare crumbled into despair as he turned to Natasha. "I can't- _you_ can't-"

"And no one will," Tony said, interrupting them. "I think we may have a solution."

That solution was an artificial recreation of Hulk's blood. "Basically, we're giving her gamma chemotherapy," Tony explained in a tired voice. 

"And, y'know, she won't turn green?" Clint asked as he finished fastening the restraints. 

"Better that than this, right?" Steve answered from Clint's side. 

"No. Well, maybe." Tony's lips were pressed together. "We don't have time for trials, so let's find out, shall we?" he asked, finding the large vein in her arm with a syringe and injecting her with something that looked vaguely green.

They stood there, hovering, every soul tense in anticipation. Waiting for something, anything. Moments passed, and the only sound was the background hum of the Avenjet's engines.

After a small eternity, Natasha took a deep breath. It was the second most beautiful sound Steve had ever heard in his life.

~*~*~*~*~

Natasha was drowsing in the Sick Bay with Clint by her side as Steve left. Thus far, it looked like there had been no complications. She was getting better. The infection was purged.

Steve exhaled, letting his shoulders slump and sway into one of the walls, and just let himself breathe for several moments. Natasha was going to be fine. She was free of Dracula's hold. Dracula...

Dracula was being courted by the Red Skull. That was another villain who knew that Steve wasn't what he appeared to be. Another villain who knew he had a weakness and might try to exploit it. Dracula, who knew he would do _anything_ to protect the people he loved.

Steve rocked into the wall with a clang from his shield and let himself slide down, breathing hard as he tried to focus on the cold floor tiles, to keep the feeling of panic down below his sternum. There was nothing to be gained from Red Skull revealing his sex to the public. He _knew_ that...

...Who the hell was he kidding? Steve had kept the worst of his memories, his pain, buried in ice somewhere so deep he wouldn't spill them onto his team. The weight of it was like a chain on his heart, but it meant he could function. Yet if the public found out and started digging, Steve would have to look at them again. The Avengers would want him to _share_. Pandora's box would open and Steve knew it might break him because it mean admitting that he _could_ be broken. That, for the Red Skull, would be motivation enough.

 _Come on, get up_ , he told himself. No one could find him like this. That would lead to questions. Questions Steve did not want to answer. Not when he had no idea what Skull was planning. Whatever it was. Something that made his gut clench in knots from worry.

He reached for the wall, getting his feet under him and staggering like a drunk. He rubbed at his eyes, opened them...

And was staring at the arc reactor in Tony's chest, glowing through the fabric of his paper-thin Black Sabbath t-shirt. Steve blinked twice before moving his eyes up, first to Tony's collar bone then to his beard, and finally to meet the other man's gaze. Tony looked concerned; his lips were drawn out, lines around his eyes as he crossed his arms. 

"So. You going to start talking to me about what's been up with you lately?"

"What's been up with me lately?" Steve said, attempting to deflect. He shrugged one shoulder. "I'm just tired. Been taking a few more hits lately, that's all."

Tony's frown deepened. "You've been... not yourself, Steve. I mean, first you get all mysterious after we get back from China, even going to a S.H.I.E.L.D. doctor. And then we ran into Dracula... who had apparently been reading _Twilight_ if his creepy stalker vibe rang true. And then you're looking like you got hit by Hulk looking for peanut butter." He reached out put his hand on Steve's shoulder, and Steve fought not to flinch.

"You helped me learn to fight, you listened whenever I needed you, and you always do your best to keep me humble," Tony went on. "We had each other's backs. I know... I know I hurt you, when I broke up the Avengers... but please. JARVIS told me I'm not privy to your medical information-"

"Tony-"

"And yeah. It's not my business. But I need to know. What is it that you can't tell me? I promise, totally non-judgmental Tony here. You're gay? That's fine. You've got a necrophilia kink you don't want to own up to that gives you a hankering for meglomaniacal vampires? We can handle that. I mean, Pepper's caught me doing some pretty weird shit so it should be just fine." A cloud crossed his face, and Steve took a step back at the look of panic on Tony's face. "Is it the serum? Skull's is breaking down. How's yours?"

Steve hadn't thought of that, though he had been briefed on Isaiah Bradley. "It's not the serum, Tony. My private life is none of your business unless you are asking me out, and not until the third date. And I'm not into vampires. Vampires repulse me. Dracula..."

"What happened?"

Steve looked down at Tony's left shoulder. "Red Skull and HYDRA researched heavily into the occult, during the War. One of his inner circle, Baron Blood, accidentally became a vampire in the course of their research. Using Skull's blood he was able walk in the daylight. He managed to infect the Howling Commandos. And Bucky."

Tony crossed his arms and rocked up on his toes, and tilted his head. "And Dracula?"

"Blood wanted to dethrone him." Steve rubbed his face. "And I needed to protect my soldiers. Dracula needed someone to work in the daylight. So that he could have the restraint to work with humans, I had to give up mine." Steve shrugged.

Tony rocked back. "Steve, that's..."

"He didn't hurt me." Steve kept looking at Tony's shoulder. "Dracula is, was, pretty indifferent to humans. He was a manipulative bastard... but he didn't want to hurt me then." 

Tony just shook his head. "Don't- Steve. Talk to me."

"It was a long time ago. I dealt with it." He gave Tony a half shrug. "Let it go."

Tony, quite clearly, didn't want to. However, he did back off of that particular topic. "All right then. How about next Friday, eight o'clock if the world isn't ending?"

"Say again?" Steve felt like he had somehow gotten whiplash. 

"Our date?" Tony had his head tilted to the side, eyebrow lifted. "Because you just asked me out, didn't you?"

"I _what?_ "

"You. Asked. Me. Out." Tony smirked. "Didn't you?"

Steve brought his eyes up to Tony's, and counted to ten. He still wanted to kill him. So this time Steve counted to twenty in German. "You know I did no such thing. And going out on a date so you can interrogate me about my past boyfriends is pretty low, Tony."

"So you admit to having had them!" Tony looked at Steve like he had grown a second head. Steve snorted, but he smiled despite himself. "I had thought you might be ace."

"Conversation over, Tony," Steve said, then sighed and rolled his eyes. He didn't know if he wanted to strangle Tony, kiss him for lightening the mood, or just shake him until his teeth rattled. "Not your business." He took off down the hall, shaking head, but relieved. Bickering with Tony while Tony yanked his chain was normal.

"I was being serious!"

Steve stopped, but didn't look back. "You can do better, Tony," he whispered, before jogging back to his room.

~*~*~*~*~

Bucky didn't remember much of what happened.

He had awoken, in the sunlight, feeling like he had been on a five day bender. Steve and the rest of the Howlies had been there, looking like they felt as bad. Steve had asked them what they remembered, and briefed them on what had happened.

_Vampires._

They had been half-turned to vampires, turned back to human, and all because of HYDRA. Steve tried to explain the details but everyone was falling asleep in their chairs. No one slept much, though.

Nightmares.

Steve let him have the officer's room that night, saying that Bucky needed the space more than he did. Bucky tossing and turning would just keep him awake. They didn't always share a room but this time, Bucky would have welcomed the company.

They were quartered in an old farm house this time, and Bucky found that the bedroom had a mirror. Glancing to see his reflection was reasurr-

Wait. Bucky blinked. There were faint marks on his neck. Bruises. 

No. _Love bites._

His memories of the last few days were spotty; more flashes and impressions than anything concrete. But as he inspected himself, pulling off his shirt, a twinge in his shoulders and back. Blinking, he twisted around, glancing over his shoulder.

The scratches on his back were a bright, livid red. Not that big of a surprise. Bucky rarely slept alone. Still, Bucky frowned because he hadn't been with a dame in a few weeks, and she had been a small, sweet thing. Gentle and quiet. He had liked her, and they had parted on good terms. She had not been the type to claw. 

They were deep, and widely spaced. The fingers themselves had to be _huge_ -

Memory hit him, freezing the air in his lungs. Cap, on his hands and knees, looking at Bucky over his shoulder with his eyes half-lidded and dark, lips on his face and between his legs both swollen and wet. Cap, on his back, watching as Bucky gripped his thighs and Bucky's heavy dick sank into his body. A body that had held him in soaked, plush, hot velvet while Steve's fingers had dragged across Bucky's shoulders as he had _wailed_ his need for Bucky's knot to the rafters...

Blood rushed to Bucky's cock as his knees gave out, fumbling to yank his pants to his knees. He had half-formed a knot already, just remembering the rich, fertile taste of Steve on his tongue. His hands shook as he spit into them, pulling at his cock until he came- a full fucking-Alpha-knock-my-bitch-up- load- all over the floor.

Bucky fell to his side, shuddering, dick still hard.

_My gift to you, child._

Memories continued. Of being a puppet on strings, but not sure, not _wanting_ to fight anymore because _Steve_. They played in reverse, with Dracula whispering, whispering through Bucky, that this was the only way, even as Bucky choked on his own drool as he felt, tasted, touched. Steve had begged to use the diaphragm. Dracula had agreed.

The first memory, though... Steve had told him 'no.'

Bucky lay on the floor for several moments, jolted back to the present, his hard-on going limp between his legs. Carefully, he sat up, snatched his handkerchief to clean himself off and got to his feet. He righted his clothes.

Then he bolted outside to throw up.

_You're welcome, child._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got a slightly better idea of where this is going now. I had been thinking to try harder to keep this in continuity with AA, but let's face it. Nothing about the first season of AA made sense. The arc reactor in Tony's chest kept him alive by acting as a pace maker INSIDE HIS CHEST. Skull stealing the armor to keep himself alive made no sense at all. Especially when it was the serum breaking down. So. More follow-up on that premise instead. Yay!


	7. Confessions and consternations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is only partially beta'd. So any mistakes are mine.

Steve sat behind the abandoned field stone farmstead where they were quartered, and puffed on his pipe as the stars spun overhead. There was little sound, night hushing voices and animal rustles. He could smell smoke from the banked camp fires of the Howlies, hear them breathe. He tried to take comfort in that. He hadn't lost anyone. There had been a dawn after the nightmare.

Everything had been worth the cost. That, at least, was what he kept telling himself.

Sleep eluded him, despite not snatching more than an hour or two at a time over the past four days. Eating had been almost as rare. Hunger sat low in his belly, but it was mixed with a feeling of disquiet that kept the worst of it at bay. His body felt distant. The aches and pains from the battle with Baron Blood had already faded to soft twinges. 

Dracula had been good to his word, and pledged that his minions would remain vigilant. HYDRA would not be able to flank the Allies on that side. The Howling Commandos were freed. Bucky was freed.

Steve needed a shower. 

He was about to head inside to see if he could warm some water, when the door of the farm house slammed open. A moment later it swung shut with a protesting crack and squeal of rusty hinges. There were remarkably faint footfalls before a body hit the ground and was loudly, messily sick. 

Steve had gotten to his feet as soon as he heard the noise. Without thinking he tapped his pipe and stomped out the embers before walking inside to grab a canteen and a towel. There was only one person it could be, and it seemed like Bucky would need cleaning up more than he would. 

He carried them out, and found Bucky was hunched over the puddle of bile on the ground. The smell almost triggered his own shaky stomach, but Steve managed to forced it down.

"Here."

Bucky didn't try to answer, or even look at him. He just put out one hand and Steve took it, forcing Bucky's fingers around the canteen. Bucky sat back on his haunches and took one swig then another, swishing and spitting twice, gargling a third time, before dumping the rest of the water on his head. He stayed bent over, head soaked and breathing like a bellows.

"Bucky-"

"Don't you say it."

"Bucky?" he said, and took a step back. 

"That bastard was in my head, Steve. He made sure I remembered." Only then did Bucky look up, and Steve took another step back. "Don't ask if I'm all right. Don't say it wasn't my fault." He laughed, high and hysterical, and Steve remembered that Bucky wasn't even eighteen yet. 

"It wasn't. This is Baron Blood's fault, and no one else's," Steve said, crouching down and scooting a bit closer. "And we got him. He's dead. You're free, you're _you_ again. Don't beat yourself up."

"Steve." Bucky sounded like his teeth were being pulled. "I hurt you."

"You wouldn't have done it without Blood-"

Bucky shook his head. "No." He stripped the extra water out of his head and got to his feet. "I," He started, then bit his bottom lip and looked away. "I remember, Steve. That you aren't. A man."

"You bet your scrawny ass I'm a man," Steve whispered, shoulders hunching forward. "That's not changed. That _never_ changed. I'm still the same person you've followed into battle for the past year. We've worked together, had each other's backs-"

"Steve. I can smell you." Bucky laughed again, and the hysterical edge was even worse. "I can _smell_ you. Men don't- you _aren't_ , okay? You got... you got a _womb_."

"So? How does that change anything?" Steve tried to hold back his own hysteria as he spoke.

"Other than everything?" Bucky looked away. "I hurt you, Steve. I couldn't stop myself... I didn't _want_ to stop myself. What if I can't stop later?"

Steve sat back on his ass, exhaling, and looking up at the stars. Bucky (or Jack, for that matter) going into a rut was always a danger. Alphas wanted only two things in a rut: fighting or fucking, and weren't picky about which one they got. Steve didn't trigger the usual Alpha pig-headedness when it came to fighting. 

"You really think you could force me to do something I didn't want to do, Buck?" God, his gut still ached from his heat. "I would stop you."

Bucky loomed over him. "Not if... Steve. You gotta promise. I lose control like that again? I ever become something like that again?" He straddled Steve's legs and sat down on his thighs, before planting his face in Steve's shoulder. "You kill me." The noise was muffled. "Whatever you have to do. Please."

Steve wrapped himself around Bucky, nose in his damp hair. "Okay. I'll do what I have to. Promise."

They sat there, Bucky's shoulders twitching under Steve's hands.

"God." Steve felt Bucky's lips move against his neck and his hands ghosted over Steve's sides. "You must think I'm some little kid."

Steve shuddered. "You were never a kid," he mumbled, and shifted under Bucky's weight. Holding Bucky was good, too good, because he was _warm_ again. His heart beat, he _breathed_. "I'm glad you're safe." Bucky had been so damn cold, not even ten hours ago. Now... 

Steve didn't want to let go. Because Bucky felt warm, smelled _healthy_ , strong, and underneath the distress there was an undercurrent of arousal. The smell that had made Steve stay away when Bucky went dancing, and avoid him right after a fight. It made Steve's gut squirm, pooled heat to his groin. Made him feel open and wet.

It had been less than three days since Dracula had used Bucky as a toy to get Steve off. And Steve, god help him, had enjoyed it. Two days into his heat with a warm and willing body (but not as warm, as pliant as now) meant Steve was lucky to remember his own name. He did remember Dracula laughing as Steve had yowled like a cat when Bucky mounted him.

Steve had heard all the jokes. Omegas were little better than screaming queens or bitches panting after anyone with a cock. That the more you fucked an Omega, the more they wanted. The more you fucked an Omega, the more likely there would be twins, or triplets or a fucking _litter_. Omegas couldn't stop-

 _Don't go whoring around. Your_ orders. _Don't go whoring..._

"Steve?" Bucky said, inhaling. He tried to bring himself closer, and Steve jumped when he felt Bucky's tongue flick once, twice, behind Steve's ear. Steve's eyes fluttered, and he sighed, tilting his head as Bucky's lips moved. "You're still-"

Somehow he was flat on his back and Bucky wasn't straddling his thighs anymore. He was between them. "Never... never lasted this long before," Steve slurred, swallowing down saliva as Bucky kept mouthing his neck, his throat. Bucky's hands were moving over his clothes, and Steve moaned as Bucky rolled his hips, erection tenting his pants. "Never been this..." Steve wrapped his legs around Bucky's waist. The heat felt good, he didn't want to let Bucky _go_ , but he was tired. Exhausted. He wanted Bucky's knot and the hot, slimy feel of his cum. He wanted to sleep for a week. 

Bucky's mouth moved up his jaw, to kiss his chin. "Never been this...?" They're grinding against each other now. God, _Bucky was safe and alive and_ human _again..._

Steve's laugh was more of a strangled sob. "Helpless."

Bucky sprang back like a frightened, well, buck, eyes wide with horror. "I can stop. _I can stop_ , Steve." His face was red, lips full, a faint stubble on his cheeks from where he hadn't shaved in a few days. "I won't-" He bit his lip, covering the massive tent in his pants. 

Steve took a deep breath. Let it out again. "I know you won't." He wanted a smoke. He wanted things he really shouldn't, and this time he closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, Bucky was offering his hand. "Come on. Let's... let's talk."

~*~*~*~*~

Tony was a businessman.

And one thing a businessman knew how to do, was _negotiate_.

He had thought Steve would start to soften up after twenty minutes of Tony hammering on his door and telling them they didn't _have_ to fly to Tahiti. They could stay in New York. They didn't have to go dancing, they could do whatever Steve wanted. Evening at the Met? Sure! Tony could rent the whole thing, do a private showing-

Steve kept the door firmly shut, and Tony eventually left. However, he refused to give up. 

That meant more negotiation. So he decided to start small. 

Steve had blinked at the flowers at breakfast, just before Tony asked if he would like to run some simulations on Steve's combat abilities. They went to the sim room, thankfully empty of everyone, and put in his careful combat data to show why, exactly, he was so much better at combat than Steve.

His intent had been to convince Steve that Tony's present of new armor was great. That it would really help him. That Tony really did care about Steve and helping him adapt to the new century. Because Tony really did want to make Steve feel comfortable in this new world. Which meant realizing that tech was great and awesome and that Tony's tech, of course, was best.

Steve did not take kindly to being told he was a Luddite.

In fact, Steve snarked back that he couldn't _possibly_ understand about tech. Coffee machines were a miracle! How did that great new-fangled picture box work again, Mr. Big Brain?

"Tony, seriously. If you change my shield I won't be as effective. It's an extension of my arm. Put me in power armor? I won't move as well. It's not the tech that's the problem." He had his arms crossed. "Tech has its place, but it will never take the place of human intuition, or just plain guts." 

"You're saying I don't have _guts_?" Thems fightin' words if Tony ever heard them.

The conversation was interrupted then, by JARVIS informing them that Justin Hammer, of Hammer Tech, was insulting Tony's work. In the most immature way possible. Steve was looking back and forth from the 'new fangled picture-box' (actually, a holographic hard-light projection) and Tony, an eyebrow raised.

"You know this is some kind of set up," Steve said. "He's deliberately picking a fight with you."

Tony's ego smarted. "Yeah, but he insulted my tech."

"Your tech, Tony." The other eyebrow rose to match the other, and Steve started looking concerned. "Not your dick." Then his frown deepened and took a deep breath... and sniffed. Walked closer to Tony and leaned in, mouth slightly open. 

Tony wished he was still in his armor. Both of them were in training gear. He felt rather naked as Steve straightened his back and frowned. "You met Hammer in person before?"

"A few times, yeah. He's got a serious case of armor envy," Tony muttered, crossing his arms. Very few people tried to scent each other like that. Mostly Alphas who never learned their manners. "Hey, I took a shower today, what-"

"You don't use a scent neutralizer." Steve's still huffing the air, twitching his tongue like he can taste it. "Hammer's an Alpha, too. Right?"

Oh hell. Steve _would_ notice that. "Yeah. And he doesn't bother to try to reign himself in. But he doesn't have the rest of the package." Steve snorted and rolled his eyes. Tony didn't know if he wanted to step back, but decided against it when Steve touched his shoulder for one last, long inhale. Heat rolled off Steve like a furnace and his hand was careful and light. Tony blinked at Steve, before ducking his head down and returning the favor.

Tony wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it wasn't this. Steve smelled like _nothing_. Faintly of Old Spice, but there was nothing else. Nothing to indicate his mood, and he didn't even have the unripe green smell of a prepubescent child. Steve could have been self-heating statue. It was frustrating, because when he tried to remember what Steve's normal smell was like, he couldn't.

"So, basically, you think he's calling you out on tech because he probably would lose a fist fight?" Steve asked, and pulled away. Tony had to fight the urge to pout at that. "Because you're the best at being the weapon's guy and he's got to show that something of his is better or bigger because of an Alpha ego?"

When Steve put it like that... Tony deflated. "He insulted us."

"He insulted _you_. We know our worth, Tony. We _know_ your worth, and your tech, is amazing. If this guy means it, well, isn't it nice to have more people fighting evil?" Steve said, and groaned at Tony's expression. "But you want us to go after him anyways."

"You're the one who said I didn't have guts," Tony growled, heat starting in his belly. "You don't think my tech is all that great."

Steve's shoulders slumped as he palmed his face. "Alphas. God help me. Tony, _calm down_."

Tony rocked back on his heels. He had started out this morning wanting to impress Steve. Wanted to show Steve that he could make Steve better, that hell. He was worthy of a date. Just one date. Maybe get Steve to finally talk to him about what was going on.

Now Hammer was interfering, trying to show him up. "Come on. The guy is asking for it," Tony muttered, grabbing for the com. "We can show up and 'help' him test his equipment. No Alpha posturing, just... science."

Steve looked up at the ceiling, spread his arms and shrugged.

~*~*~*~*~*~

When the Avenjet landed, they all trooped down to see Justin Hammer standing there looking every inch the wannabe that Tony had named him.

He was wearing what was a knock off version of one of Tony's Armani suits, Gucci sunglasses and was sipping a martini. "Avengers, welcome," he said, a small vicious smile curving his lips. "You actually accepted my invitation!" He gestured to the tiny mini-bar behind him. "Care for a drink?

"Cut to the chase, Hammer," Tony began, took a deep breath and gagged. He wasn't kidding when he said that Justin Hammer was the type of Alpha never to reign himself in. Tony took care to keep himself clean and dry, and to wear a hormone patch (replaced monthly, honestly, pills were too easy to forget) so he wouldn't go following the nearest girl home or cause a fistfight in the streets.

Hammer didn't take _any_ of those precautions. His attitude, his smell, was a slap in the face to any Alpha along with just smelling obnoxious to anyone who wasn't. Betas would say it was too much cologne. Omegas would say...

Tony saw Steve's Disapproving Frown get deeper. Tony was very familiar with that frown. "You okay?"

Steve wrinkled his nose. "Point to you. You weren't kidding about him."

Hammer's grin looked like a shark's. "Having fun talking to your boyfriend, Tony?"

Tony scowled while Steve turned red. "We aren't-"

"Then mind if I ask?"

Steve looked just as disgusted as Tony. "When hell freezes over."

"Seriously, what is with this month? Is this 'Sexually Harass Cap Month' or something?" Sam muttered in the background. He heard Hulk mumble something in answer. 

"You sure?" Hammer went on, keeping his smile on as he walked past Tony and up to Steve. "Because you can't tell me that Tony actually appreciates a pretty thing like you. He doesn't know how to treat 'em."

Steve's eyebrows went up as he stepped back and coughed. "No. Tell us what you want."

"Well, I want you to help me with a little experiment. I've built a robot that could replace _all_ of you. I'm willing to bet it can curb-stomp all you Avengers into the dirt." His eyes narrowed, smile getting wider. He put his hand on Steve's cheek. Steve froze in surprise, before swatting him away. "Winner gets a kiss?"

Tony _did_ growl. 

So did the Hulk. "Not cool," the behemoth said, voice a deep rumble. In fact, the rest of the Avengers were stepping up and around Cap. 

"Hammer, what the hell? Being a creeper-"

Tony then found himself sucker punched by Hammer's newest toy, the Super Adaptoid.

The Avengers, pissed off as they were, promptly smashed the robot into rubble, to Tony's glee. That glee lasted until they left and Steve started asking for the combat data. Tony was tempted, before burying the idea, to ask for that kiss from Steve.

Couldn't the man just enjoy that Tony was _right_ for once?

~*~*~*~*

Bucky held his breath as Steve took his hand, holding steady as he helped Steve to his feet. They held hands for a beat too long, if anyone was watching.

Too much swirled in Bucky's brain. First and foremost was _guilt_ , over the memories. Second was confusion, because Cap had been lying to him. Lying about _everything_ , about what he was, who he was...

And Bucky felt himself _flinch_ from the thought because he had _known_. His gut, at least. He had followed Steve around like a puppy, picked fights with Jack because Jack got a wee bit _handsy_ with his Steve. He _hated_ it when anyone looked at Steve, no matter if they were wearing pants or a skirt. He had wanted Steve's attention more than anyone else. His dates had been suspiciously blond.

Dammit.

Steve's night vision was excellent, and he put his hand on Bucky's shoulder to guide him through the dark back to the farmhouse. Eventually they made their way upstairs, to Steve's room, and closed the door behind them.

Steve didn't light the lamp. It would have been a beacon to anyone outside that someone was awake and moving. That people might be talking. 

There was moonlight filtering through small window, leaving a soft puddle on the floor, was the only light in the room. The bed was taking up the left hand corner of the room. Bucky could just make out the outline of a dresser and washstand on the opposite wall. Steve took his warm, heavy hand off Bucky's shoulder and walked to the wall under the window, and folded his long legs to sit down on the floor. Bucky took a deep breath, about to sit down across from Steve-

When Cap held up his hand, and patted the floor next to him. Bucky paused, swallowed, and nodded. He settled beside Steve, crossing his legs. They were shoulder-to-shoulder, thigh-to-thigh, and Bucky leaned into Steve despite himself. 

"So..."

"Bucky..."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Because really, that was the most important question, wasn't it? "We- didn't you trust me?"

He felt Steve's cheek against his hair, and then Steve took his hand, twined their fingers together. "You called me names. Told jokes about me."

Bucky winced. He hadn't been talking about _Steve_ , but- dammit. "I'm sorry."

"General Philips knows. So does Stark, Peggy and my doctor. Erskine knew, and he hadn't planned on telling anyone until after I received the serum. The rest found out afterwards." Steve's voice was soft, not a whisper, but skipping the sibilants. "I'm under orders not to let anyone else know. I was... " he let out a loud, frustrated sigh. "Not to touch anyone. Or be touched. Then you walked in my life." He ran his thumb over the palm of Bucky's left hand. Bucky shivered. Steve chuckled, but it was a bitter sound. "You deserved better than this."

Bucky rubbed his cheek against Steve's shoulder. "How come no one knew? Before this?"

"You know I was sickly my whole life. I was small and frail and wasn't," he mumbled, then coughed. "Well enough. So I found work and lived my life and didn't tell anyone."

"You- you're _mostly_ a woman. You could have-"

"I'm not." Steve's expression wasn't visible in the dark, the angle was all wrong, but that did nothing to hide the steel in his voice. His hand tightened on Bucky's, almost making him cry out. "I'm Captain Steve Rogers. I'm a soldier. I can't... I _need_ to be out there fighting. I've never felt like I was anything other than a man, Bucky. Leaving my life, becoming something I'm not... I couldn't do it."

His grip relaxed, and Bucky exhaled in relief. "I didn't feel like my body fit until _after_ the serum, though."

"Oh." Bucky tried to wrap his mind around it. He had always felt like himself. He did know what it felt like to feel that no one cared, or was looking out for you. Steve, though. Steve had been the first person to actually make Bucky feel like he _mattered_ , for himself. Not just as a tool. 

He shivered, smelling Cap's sweat, mixed with that smell that said he was still fertile. 

"I should be apologizing to you, now," Steve mumbled. His fingers went lax against Bucky's.

"What?" 

"You said you should have fought harder. But Dracula wouldn't have thought to use you if I hadn't..." He felt Steve's muscles tense even if he couldn't see them. "He knew it was _you_..." The words bottled up in Steve's throat. "Bucky- you said you didn't want to stop," and his voice pitched higher, liked they were being wrenched from him. "But I didn't want you to." Air hitched in his lungs, coming out in a choked little laugh. "Even before this. I wanted- it was _wrong_ , you're my subordinate and my friend and it would put you in danger. Anyone found out and you'd be taken from me and..."

Bucky squeezed Steve's hand, a weight coming off his shoulders but settling in his chest. 

"I forgive you what happened... if you forgive me," Cap went on, rambling. "I couldn't tell you because you're seventeen and I'm your officer and..." He went back to stroking the palm of Bucky's hand like it was the most precious thing in the universe. 

"That's bullshit."

"Bucky?"

Bucky lifted Steve's hand to his lips and kissed his knuckles, feeling the thick skin from dozens of fistfights with his lips. 

"They wouldn't send you home. They wouldn't send _me_ home. You know how much money they put into training us?" Bucky said, and hissed in anger. "You're the only super soldier around. Well, there's Master Man and he don't count. They see your face in the newsreels all the time. They might blister your ass with a reprimand, but a blue ticket? No flipping way. And they need _me_ doing the dirty work so you won't have to. So long as you don't go wearing a dress or start an orgy in the middle of camp, Philips is going to look the other way."

"Maybe. But they can separate us." Steve's hand went limp, and Bucky cradled it against his face. "I need my partner, Bucky. And if I mess up... if I get into trouble..." He trailed off again, leaving the rest of it unsaid. Bucky felt cold, colder than being turned into a vampire. He felt like he was dying inside. 

"You're not alone anymore, Steve."

"I should be."

Steve's words tasted like shrapnel going down. So. That was it then. "Okay. I promise I won't tell." Bucky climbed to his feet to leave, but he couldn't let go of Steve's hand, not yet. He let his fingers get loose, prepared to drop even as he took a step away.

When Steve's grip tightened. "I should. But I don't want to be." His voice cracked. "Bucky. Please stay." 

Bucky froze, before dropping to his knees in front of Steve. He could barely make out the outline of Steve's face, that it was wet. He could smell the salt. 

He reached up. "Cap? Can I?

Steve nodded, and Bucky moved close, between Steve's knees and brushed his fingers over Steve's face. His cheeks were velvet-smooth, without the bristle of stubble, damp from tears. The kiss was awkward, Steve didn't know how to move his head as they clacked their teeth together. Bucky felt Steve _melt_ as Bucky pressed the kiss, legs spreading apart further as Bucky pushed Steve into the wall. 

"You done this before?" Bucky asked, because he's fairly sure the answer is no. He was already running his hands over Cap's chest, grabbing the waistband and giving a yank to peel off the stars-and-stripes. Steve lifted his arms to help. The armored shirt dropped with a clank and they froze for a moment, Steve's hot breath in his ear.

"Counting this past week?" Steve said, making a soft croon as Bucky mouthed his neck. Bucky shucked his gloves so he could touch Steve's deliciously pale skin. "Just... this past week."

It still felt weird for Bucky to hear. Weird, because why _hadn't_ someone tried to get Steve into bed yet? But his inner Alpha _purred_ in satisfaction. Steve was _his_. His to touch, to taste, to make _scream_. To feel Steve's hands run through his hair and down his back, to feel Steve's face turn hot when he brushed over the tent in Bucky's pants. Steve was _his_ , and the evil Alpha in the back of his mind tossed up the wicked image of Steve with a baby belly. Of tasting his leaking, swollen tits (even now, his nipples were _huge_ ) and feeling that under his hands-

He humped against Steve, growling, and Steve honest-to-god _whimpered_ before sliding down the wall with Bucky on top of him. He panted, soft and low in Bucky's ear as he fumbled for his belt, for Bucky's belt. "Please. Bucky, I need it." 

"Need it?" Bucky whispered. "My cock?" The words tumbled from his lips. "My knot? You want my cum?" Steve whimpered louder. "Fill you up? Make you-"

Steve bit off a curse before grabbing Bucky's head, almost biting Bucky with the force of the kiss, before going limp and gulping for air. "You got a rubber?"

Bucky paused, nodded, and groaned before he stood up to reach for his pocket. "You got your diaphragm?" he asked as he kicked off his boots and pants. Steve licked his lips and nodded.

"They make them special. I've had it in since this morning," Steve rasped, as he wiggled free of his own pants, and sitting up. "When I realized that my heat was lasting longer than normal." The light was non-existent, but Bucky could feel Steve's eyes on him. His scars, his muscles, at his erection. Steve's smile was pure lust. "Can I-"

Bucky nodded, shuddering as Steve took the rubber and Bucky's cock, stroking up and down. Bucky felt a smug smile tugging at his lips. He was proud of his dick; Steve also looked happy with his nine inches, and just barely able to wrap his hands around the girth. "You like it?"

Steve's eyebrow went up. "Yes. But no wonder you can't think when you go out," he said as he leaned in, and took a deep breath and a long lick up the side of Bucky's erection. "All your blood goes here." Bucky growled at him as he pulled back, rolling the condom down.

"You bring out the best in me."

Steve sputtered a laugh, but neither of them could say much more as he tugged Bucky back down, laying flat on the floor and spreading his legs. There was just enough light for Bucky to see how shiny with slick Steve was, and to smell his need. He was tempted to dive back down there, to feast on Steve's pussy, but Steve would have nothing of it. Instead he gently, very gently, dragged Bucky down for a kiss and guided Bucky's cock where he wanted it.

Bucky pulled out of the kiss to watch Steve's face as he slid inside. 

Dracula's possession came to him in flashes, but _this_ was something he remembered perfectly. Steve's cunt was tight around his cock, slick and soft as he moved his hips, almost sloppy wet. Steve's face went slack, eyelids fluttering as his lips parted and he was so beautiful Bucky forgot to breathe for a moment. Let alone _move_.

Steve came almost before Bucky was all the way inside. Steve's head was tossed back as he covered his mouth to keep from screaming, and his cunt squeezed Bucky's dick like a vise. 

"Steve?"

"Yeah... I- I guess I'm pretty worked up," he said, and cleared his throat. Bucky could feel his tiny dick was still hard against his belly. "Keep going." His smile was shaky but real. "You feel real good, Buck." His blunt nails raked over the skin of Bucky's back. " _Real_ good." He wrapped his legs around Bucky's waist. "Don't stop. Please."

Bucky nodded, starting a slow pace, because he didn't want to come so soon; he wanted to keep watching Steve. So he did, but the light meant he couldn't see details. So he started to whisper.

"Do you want my cum, Cap?"

Steve cooed. "Y-yes..."

"Do you want me to fill you up?" he continued, hips getting faster. 

Steve's face was hot, which probably meant he was blushing. "Yes."

"I want to," Bucky hissed, shuddering as he felt his knot start to fill out. "I want to fill you up, big and round." Steve's moans were getting louder. Bucky ducked down to find one of Steve's nipples. "I want to see these bursting with milk, soaking through your uniform," he went on, and Steve was rocking up to meet his thrusts. "God," and he sped up even more, feeling Steve open up for his knot. "I want to see you with my baby, Steve," he snarled, as Steve gasped as Bucky's knot fully popped, making Steve come so hard he squirted as his cunt caught it. Caught it, and they tied, and Bucky came. 

"I want it," he muttered. Kept muttering. "You'd be so beautiful, Steve. You'd be so beautiful." He could feel the condom fill with his spend, squishing as he pulsed his hips against his Steve... who was still mewling in the aftershocks of his orgasm. "You'd be such a good mom."

Steve moaned as Bucky stopped moving. "We can't."

They just lay there, breathing, still tied as they waited for the knot to deflate. "I know." Bucky licked Steve's neck before finding his lips. The kiss was long, languorous, and regretful. 

" _We can't_ , Bucky," Steve went on, even as his pussy tied harder to Bucky's knot. "Not now." He looked Bucky in the eye. He looked afraid. "We can't."

Bucky kissed him. "I know. Doesn't stop my stupid Alpha side from dreaming, though."

And Steve tried to laugh. It sounded more like a sob.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If Tony is being especially OOC, please let me know. I am not the biggest Tony fan (I like his EMH incarnation, and I like his MCU incarnation) because I find him treated too often as a saint in fanfic. Granted, I fear I may be doing the same with Steve. It is something I want to keep an eye on. Please let me know if you happen to feel I am moving too far out. 
> 
> Note: In the original '40s comics, Steve did smoke a pipe. He also dressed up as a grandmother to go undercover and has fought Satan in a cave, and won. Golden Age Cap was pure crack, but then again, so were most Golden Age stories. In this case, I'm using it to indicate that Steve's got some underlying issues to deal with.


	8. Better forgotten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Note for: sexist and slut-shaming language from Hammer, mentions of rape and abortion.

Steve almost tossed the StarkPad down in frustration, but stopped at the last minute. Breaking it wouldn't help, as much as he wanted to. 

Winnowing his way through the combat data was difficult without a filter. Tony was being difficult on purpose, still miffed that Steve hadn't taken him up on the new armor. But he was sure he had seen the Super Adaptoid start, well, adapting. The fight had been too easy.

Tony was being an ass.

His eyes drifted to the bouquet of flowers Tony had brought him this morning. The gesture alone had kept Steve from strangling Tony for his antics. They were deep maroon, white, and blue sweet peas. Either Tony was blindly lucky, or he had somehow figured out Steve's favorite flower. 

Steve got to his feet, took a long stretch as his mind mulled over Tony, Hammer, and the Super Adaptoid mess from this morning. Hammer had been showing off. Tony's theory had been that Hammer was making a play to humiliate him in an "My Alpha Tech is Bigger Than Your Alpha Tech" kind of way. Steve wasn't so sure, though, that the whole performance had just been for Tony. Getting into Steve's personal space, smelling like he was about to rut...

He had clearly meant _that_ part of the show to be for Steve. 

Which could have meant... Steve rubbed his face, and went to find a glass from the bar for the flowers before returning to his seat in the living area. Hammer either knew that Tony was flirting with Steve and this was to make him jealous, or he had an inkling that Steve was an Omega. 

Neither implication left Steve feeling comfortable.

Steve sat down and poked the StarkPad. "You can do this," he repeated to himself. "You can do this." 

There had to be a dirty joke in there somewhere when the StarkPad popped out a joystick. 

"You know," a voice called, and Steve looked up to see Sam walking into the room. His warm eyes were kind. "If you just say 'I meant to do that,' it covers most everything."

Steve gave him a crooked, sheepish smile. "Thanks."

"If you're having trouble with the tech, just ask," he offered, leaning over Steve's shoulder to look at what Steve was doing. "I imagine that all this can be hard for someone of," and he smiled, cautiously, "your age?"

Steve chuckled. "Sam, I'm barely older than you. I slept through a lot, but I awoke to a world of marvels. But you and Tony think that tech is the only thing great about the world today." He gestured at Sam, and absently towards himself. "The people are better than they were. There are better laws protecting people's lives. You don't see Beta women being manhandled as a manner of course. Omegas and Beta women have control of their bodies. Alphas had to learn _manners_ -" Steve shook his head. "There's still work to do, but knowing what I know now... I couldn't go back."

"Go back? You mean, you actually considered time travel?" Sam's eyebrows shot up. "You serious?"

"I said we lived in a world of marvels, right? I survived almost seventy years frozen in ice. I've been to Asgard, Atlantis, to other planets to fight the Kree. Kang came through time because he wanted to kill me. Time-travel would be difficult, but..." Steve trailed off, and absently brushed his fingers against the delicate sweet peas. "But when I asked Dr. Richards, he said that I couldn't go back and change things. There's no record of... of any family of mine surviving." Steve couldn't meet Sam's eyes. "If I couldn't change the fate of anyone I loved, and without the people... what would have been the point?"

"This is getting kind of heavy, man. You all right?" Sam's dark eyes were keen as they scanned him, and Steve gave himself an internal shake. 

"Fine. Just," he said, paused, and brushed his fingers over the sweet peas again. "Feeling my age."

"Okay, we can change the subject," Sam said as he leaned over Steve's shoulder to look at the StarkPad. "What are you working on?"

"Analyzing Hammer's little display from earlier. He played straight for Tony's blind spot: his ego. First by daring to challenge him personally, and with a machine no less."

"And then he was hitting on you, right?" Sam asked, eyes twinkling in amusement. "Because even I could smell the guy, and I'm _normal_. But I can see why he would be confused given how Tony likes to pull your pig-tails."

Steve was scanning the data, almost opened his mouth to contradict Sam (about what, he wasn't sure) before stopping as he found what he had been looking for. "There!"

"Those look like undifferentiated micro-clusters. Tiny machines that can-"

"Be repurposed into anything in response to new programming, right?" Steve cut in. Sam lifted an eyebrow and grinned as Steve picked up a magazine with Tony's face on it. "Futura. Never miss an issue." Steve tossed the magazine aside. "Tony thought it was scanning us for weaknesses..."

Falcon's face lit up. "But it can do more than that." The young man's back went tense. "We better call him."

"Call who?"

Speak of the devil, Steve thought, as Tony and Clint came in. 

Of course, that was when the entire front window of the Tower exploded, knocking them both off their feet in a spray of glass, mortar and shards of steel. All four Avengers were still in their armored uniforms, but as Steve got to his feet and pulled his cowl over his face, his fingers came away bloody. 

"Falcon!"

Sam was sprawled on the ground, and Steve grabbed his shield even as he knelt to check Sam for injuries. There were cuts, but most of it appeared superficial. Behind him, he could hear Tony and Clint groaning and swearing as they got to cover. 

" _Gentlemen!_ " a cheerfully malicious voice called through the speakers of the large, gleaming form of the Super Adaptoid. Hammer's pixilated face was scrawled over the front of its head. " _And pretty boy-toy,_ " he said, winking as Steve pulled Sam behind one of Tony's Kevlar-and-steel reinforced sofas. " _Our little test wasn't over. See, first the Super Adaptoid_ learns _, and then he_ adapts." 

Steve's mind cleared as he realized what the Super Adaptoid had just done, flaring perfect copies of Sam's wings. 

" _Capisce?_ "

"He just used a repulsor blast," Sam was muttering, spitting glass and blood from his mouth. "Tony- how did he-?

Tony was growling. It was deep, low sound that came up from somewhere in his gut and made Steve feel sick. It reminded him too much of when Bucky would start getting territorial, spoiling for a fight or... about to do something stupid. "I have no idea," Tony ground out. His face was flushed red as he clenched his fists. Steve stumbled forward to take his shoulder. 

" _Aw, soil your armor yet, Stark?_ " Hammer mocked. " _Can't keep your tower safe? Can't keep what's yours safe?_ " And he not-so-subtly had the robot form a pair of shields.

"That thing wasn't scanning us for weaknesses," Steve said, trying to get a word in. God, this was just getting worse. He reached for Tony's chin to break his eye contact with the Super Adaptoid. Tony didn't budge. "It was learning-"

Steve swore he could see the moment Tony stopped thinking. He leapt into the air, snarling wordlessly, not listening when Steve tried to call him back. Grabbing Tony would be impossible with the repulsor boots.

" _When was the last time you tasted uni-beam, Stark?_ " 

Tony was quicker on the draw, just as Hulk and Thor burst through the windows of Stark Tower to join the fight. Said blasts were deflected by the shields into their pair of hard-hitters, knocking them from the sky.

Then the Super Adaptoid fired the uni-beam at point blank range.

" _Fuck you, Stark._ "

" _IRONMAN!_ " Steve yelled as he _leapt_ , between Tony and the robot. Both of them were knocked back, tumbling across the formerly plush carpet of the Tower's lounge before they stopped. To Steve's annoyance, Tony was curled around _him_.

" _You done playing with your toys, Stark? I want to take a turn!_ "

Steve's eyes fluttered, before Tony clambered to his feet to do his best Hulk impersonation. "Tony, wait- that's not going to work!"

The Hulk impersonation worked as well as it had for the Hulk, and Tony was knocked back through the tower window in a shower of shards of glass. 

"You're not listening," Steve insisted as Tony staggered to his feet. Steve pulled free a explosive from his belt and flung it at the Adaptoid's legs, blowing it up from the waist down.

" _Smooth!_ " Hammer went on. " _You really should have claimed this one while you had the chance, Stark. He's feisty._ " Hammer's chuckle made Steve's neck prickle. " _I'm going to enjoy training you to come to heel, boy. _"__

__Oh, fuck._ _

_" _I feel like causing some trouble. You feel like stopping me?_ "_

~*~*~*~*~

Bucky's present on his eighteenth birthday was to find out that he wasn't going to be a father.

He had forgotten it was his birthday, to be honest. Probably due to the concussion. 

Waking up had been painful. He reached for his memories, but they were scattered, hot and disjointed. Nothing like the vampire memories, which had been cold and colorless, but still. Everything was an angry blur that confused the hell out of him. 

Bucky cracked his eyes open, and he stared up at the familiar stained and mildewed canvas of the tent he shared with Cap. He was aware of the tightness of bandages on his head and his body felt like he was weighed down by a lead blanket, heavy and numb from the waist down. This suggested either some very good morphine, or... something he wasn't ready to acknowledge yet. 

"Mission was a success. You got the plans," Steve said, crossing into view. He had taken off his cowl and was still dressed in the Stars and Stripes. There were dark smudges under his eyes."How you feeling?"

"Like I had a fist fight with Master Man and-" Bucky said, before his chest shuddered in a cough and his ribs shrieked in protest. Steve was there, then, getting under him to prop him up like a doll and put a flask to his lips. Whatever was in it eased his throat. 

"You did, actually," Steve answered when he pulled back the flask. Bucky tilted his head up from where he was leaned against Steve's shoulder and saw the bruises on his face. They were already the ugly green of healing. 

Bucky blinked slowly at him, again sifting through his memories. They had been on a routine counter-intelligence mission: some dame, a spy, had stolen some weapons designs from Howard Stark. Steve had plotted an ambush for them to get the plans back. It was straight forward enough. Steve would chase the convoy on his bike into a trap with the rest of the Invaders waiting. Bucky was there to blow out the tires.

They hadn't expected Master Man. Namor and the Torches had tried to go after him immediately-

Bucky remembered smelling blood. Steve's blood. He didn't remember Steve getting hit but the smell had been particularly strong and... he had flung himself at Master Man like an idiot.

Wow. Bucky's instincts could pick really stupid moments to decide he was Big Alpha defending his mate. 

"Well, I couldn't buy flowers," Bucky started, but Steve cut him off, not amused.

"What happened?"

Bucky grimaced, closing his eyes as his head throbbed in time with his ribs. "Smelled you. Blood. You okay?" he asked. He could still smell it, and he struggled to sit up so he could check Steve over. Steve gently pulled him back before putting the flask to his lips again. Bucky wanted to glare but his head hurt too much. He took an obedient sip, and the pain in his head and ribs started easing away. His reward was Steve's hand on his chest while ghosting a kiss over his hair.

Bucky reveled in it. Cap was a _furnace_ , and they were in the Alps. 

"I hadn't been injured, yet," Steve said. But he was, eventually. Bucky frowned. "Hm. Ah. I think I know what happened," Steve mumbled. Bucky could see his face flush, eyes darting away, and then tilt his head to the side, listening for any eavesdroppers. "I'm late, but, I did start bleeding. Finally."

Bucky blinked again, several times, when he realized what Steve meant. "Oh. _Oh_. I guess... that's good?" 

Steve's face twisted into an uncomfortable smile. "Hurts like a bitch this time around, but, yeah." He shifted his weight, and Bucky reached up to stroke his baby-smooth cheeks.

Bucky fought down a hiss when pins-and-needles started down his legs. 

"Listen, Bucky, we gotta talk," Steve said, and Bucky groaned. He was pretty damn sure he didn't want to hear this.

"I know. I gotta stop taking stupid risks, I'm not as strong as you, I'm the regular Joe here-"

"Not that." He took a small glance at the flask in his hands and frowned. "You're a good man, Bucky. You're damn good at your job. But you can't go throwing yourself into danger just because your nose thinks I'm in trouble."

The smell of Steve's blood was still strong in the tent, making Bucky want to get up, find a place to squirrel Steve away and make sure no one looked his way again. Because both Bucky and Steve knew they probably weren't going to survive the war but Bucky wanted see Steve live anyways. Because Steve made Bucky feel like he mattered, because Steve would give up pieces of his soul for Bucky, and Bucky wanted to return the favor.

"Why not?" Bucky said as he leaned back, taking Steve's hands in his own. "I... care ... about... you. Why shouldn't I want you safe? "

"Because I rescued _you_ today, remember?" Steve asked, drily, and his voice dropped. "I know your instincts are all telling you that you need to protect me, or the other Invaders. But if people see you doing that, for me specifically?" He became more quiet, barely a whisper. "They'll ask questions. And we can't afford that."

Bucky grunted softly. "Yeah. Blue ticket, or you..." He couldn't think too clearly with the smell of blood in the air. Steve gave him one last swig from the flask. Beyond salty, Bucky couldn't tell what it was, but the pain went away. His limbs felt stronger, and the weird numbness faded. He looked down and wiggled his toes.

"Probably married to someone from the secretarial pool," Steve croaked, exhaled and slumped against him. A faint tremor went through his limbs. "Buck, you're a fighter. I know that. Just... listen. Please. It's not your job to protect me. It's mine to..." His voice caught. "You were unconscious for three days, Buck."

Silence. Bucky's mouth opened and shut, and he got the impression there was something big he was missing. "Steve- _Cap_ \- If you're gonna be like that, I might as well kiss you in front of the whole camp and get sent home. Cause... cause... I'll do my best, Cap. I can't promise not to fly off the handle because you," he trailed off, because what he wanted to say sounded stupid. You listen to me. You forgave me. You're beautiful. You talk baseball and movies and... "are hurt. I'm your partner, remember? We watch each other's backs."

Steve looked away, and Bucky could see that his eyes were shiny.

" _Steve_. I'm not a kid!" He sat up, and stretched out the kinks so he could stand. He swayed, but caught himself, and this time the tears Steve were trying to hide came out. 

"I know." Steve looked away and wiped his eyes. "Happy birthday, Bucky." He kissed Bucky again, and got up to leave. "Rest. We'll talk in the morning."

~*~*~*~*~

Tony was down. The rest of the Avengers were down.

Steve really, honest-to-god, wished that these assholes he called a team would just fucking listen to him again. They did once, before. Now it seems like the entire goddamn team was just doing their own thing, not working together, not trying to think _strategically_ at all. Just relying on whatever talent they had gotten by on when the Avengers had gone their separate ways.

What the hell was the point of being on a team when you couldn't _work_ together?

It didn't really matter at the moment; all the other Avengers were down and the Super Adaptoid was on Steve's tail. He could hear Hammer's delighted laughter when he destroyed Steve's sky-bike, sending him tumbling to the Avenger's Tower landing platform. 

"Run away?" Hammer said with a sneer. "I'm faster. Hide? I'll find you." He sounded giddy. "You could surrender." Steve poured on speed instead, feeling his lungs and muscles burn in a way they hadn't since the serum. "I gotta take you somewhere, and I'm sure you'll enjoy the ride."

 _Creeper_. Steve didn't know what else to call the bastard. Though bastard worked pretty well. 

Steve knew these halls, knew how to dodge, how to leap, how to use his environment to his advantage. 

" _Adaptoid's mastered all your tricks, remember?_ " Hammer said as Steve leapt around the clumsy grabs and blows, but they started coming faster, despite Steve trying to avoid a pattern. 

" _I don't mean to hurt your feelings, but you aren't worth that much, Captain Omega._ " Steve flinched from the name, just long enough for the Adaptoid to split his lip and slam him into a wall. " _You're just some relic. Good for being someone's toy. Barefoot and pregnant. You'll be happier that way. All Omegas are._ "

Steve got his feet back under him, and took off running again. The Adaptoid retaliated by trying to pull down a section of the ceiling on his head. 

" _You know, if you surrender now? I won't ruin your pimp's company,_ " Hammer nattered on. " _You'll like it, I promise. You just need a nice, firm hand to keep you in line._ "

_Just shut the fuck up._

" _This won't take much longer, and I kind of like having someone watch, so I'm going to patch in a friend,_ " Hammer continued, because Steve wasn't in enough pain already. " _You getting this, Skull?_ "

_Oh, of course._

The Skull's voice was distorted, and Steve had to focus on putting as much energy into running as he could, keeping his shield behind him to block the incoming blasts at his legs. He didn't hear what Skull had said... but he definitely heard when Hammer answered him.

" _He's an Omega. He's the weakest Avenger; all he's got is his shield._ " The contempt in his voice was obvious as Steve kept running. And Hammer kept following. " _He's probably the team bicycle. But you said if I brought him to you, I could get a ride, right?_ "

_Keep running, almost there..._

A fierce smile spread across his face as he raced into the lounge area, and to the Big Red Button that Tony had thought Steve didn't understand. 

Steve let himself run into the wall, cornered. Hammer caught him by the throat and lifted off his feet. " _You look so good like this, Cap! Think Skull will let me put a collar on you?_ " Hammer asked, dragging on of the Adaptoid's fingers through the blood running down Steve's chin. The stain soaked in, vanishing into the robot's synthetic skin. " _That enough of a sample for you, Skull?_ "

 _Fuck!_ Steve thought, as Red Skull's face swam up on the Adaptoid's belly. The Skull's face was creased in an amused, triumphant smirk.

Steve twisted around and hit the Big Red Button.

~*~*~*~*~

It was never really quiet on the Tri-Carrier, even in the middle of the night. Director Fury sat as his desk and ignored the low hum in the background as he caught up on reports. Things had been almost unnaturally peaceful for the past week, and that, in his line of work, usually meant things were about to FUBAR. It was almost two in the morning then, as he sat in his small pool of lamp light and sipped from a cup of coffee old enough to leave a ring on the inside. The doors of his office slid open, and he didn't bother to look up.

For several moments, there was no sound at all, but Fury could feel the weight of the man's gaze and the room temperature seemed to drop ten degrees.

"You could always take a picture," he told the man in front of him, as he continued to read from the stack of files on his desk, six inches thick. "Report?"

The words were short, clipped, and to the point. Targets eliminated. No new information on the Cabal. The man's voice went on, but when he got to the last part-

"Skull is starting to look for a geneticist? And reproductive technologies?" Fury sputtered, face snapping up to look at the man, then pinching into a grimace. "Any idea as to why?"

"A few," the man in front of him said slowly. "A few. Remember when the Skull re-emerged after he had been on the run?"

"You mean when you were hunting him all over creation and trying to avoid Cap?"

The man's lips tightened, but he didn't flinch, before he went on. "You know he captured Captain Rogers and was planning to steal his body because the imperfect serum was breaking down in his own."

"Captain Rogers came in for an examination afterwards," Fury said, and leaned back. "So yeah, I got to see the full work up. Why? Think he's trying to clone Cap?"

"He wouldn't want a clone." There was a soft note of anger in the man's voice. "Cap's an Omega, and Red Skull... his ego wouldn't let him be in any body other than a male Alpha."

"Rogers didn't tell us how long the Skull had him," Fury asked, voice dropping. He rested his elbows on the table, propping his chin with his hands. "But given our surveillance, it could have been anywhere from four to seven hours. No details on how, but they got the body thing sorted out." He stroked his goatee. "Long enough to possibly harvest stem cells or ova?" With Betas, egg harvesting could take up to a month or more with the current technology. Omegas, however, almost always had ripe ova. While they spontaneously ovulated only twice a year, which resulted in the infamous 'heat' the poor souls went through, most became pregnant through induced ovulation. An Omega ovulated as soon as seminal fluid was introduced into that person's uterus. Meaning that, literally, any time an Omega had unprotected sex, that person could get pregnant. The more sex they had, the more ova would be released. 

While Alphas were frequently likened to dogs or wolves, Omegas were more like cats. 

The man in front of him hissed, and looked away. "He had the body for long enough. He could have impregnated Rogers if that was what he wanted."

"A natural pregnancy would take too long. On top of waiting for nine months, which he doesn't have, he would also have Rogers fighting him tooth and nail. The boy might have been raised Catholic but you and I both know that wouldn't stop him from putting a shiv through his own belly if he was carrying the baby of a mass murder," Fury said drily. His one eye cast over to the drawer where he kept his good bourbon. 

This time, the man _did_ flinch. 

Fury didn't feel shame, but he did feel tired. "Want a drink?"

"I never drink... wine," the man said, and snorted. "No effect on me."

Fury rubbed his eye. "Well I do. There was no obvious trauma to Rogers. We did a rape kit. Nothing. But he's got the mother of all heat cycles coming up in few days, and according to him it's months early." Fury frowned. "Widow is trying to talk him into getting to a safe house for those three days. Want to take point guarding him, Barnes?"

The Winter Soldier shifted his weight, but otherwise stayed perfectly at attention. "Not a good idea."

"Oh?" Fury tilted his chair back, his good eye scanning the Soldier's face. "Bet he drove you crazy during the war. Dad told me stories. Young kid like you, all hormones and no sense, living with the fittest Omega on the planet..." He trailed off, lifting an eyebrow to try to get Barnes to fill in the details.

Instead, Barnes kept his mouth shut. 

Well. You couldn't win them all.

"Keep digging," Fury ordered. "You don't want to go to the Avengers, fine, but you find out what you can about what Skull is up to. Standing orders remain: you get a clear shot on Schmidt, you take him out. Otherwise, he starts to make a move on Cap, you let me know and I'll pass it along."

Barnes finally stirred. "Yes, sir." He turned his back to Fury, then paused. "Make sure to keep any Alphas on your staff away from Cap."

"We don't have many, but the ones we have are all vetted and are on hormone therapy. The only one who can't take the meds is you," Fury said, and lifted an eyebrow.

"Exactly." There was a soft growl from Barne's throat. "I smell him on them? I can't be held responsible."

The door to Fury's office slid open and shut, and there was silence for several minutes as a slow smile spread over Fury's face. 

"Well. I guess that answers the question of who baby-daddy is."


	9. Open secrets

Tony Stark was not having a good day.

Things had started out well enough. Steve's reaction to the flowers (soft, surprised, shy and awkwardly happy) had promised a great start.

Then he had refused Tony's gift of new armor.

Then Hammer had called him out. Called him out, and used a machine to do it. Used a machine that...

Bile rose up in his throat. Hammer had built something that worked. (And, somewhere deep inside his subconscious, Tony heard his brain shriek that Hammer had built something new and original and it was _better_. His ego burned the thought out.)

Being an Alpha wasn't something Tony thought about. He changed the hormone patch when Jarvis reminded him (but he had to admit, sometimes he couldn't be bothered) and that was about it. Alphas weren't exactly common, and the couple of times he had run into one it had been someone so far below him it hadn't mattered. He had the Iron Man armor, he had the Stark fortune, he was one of the most brilliant men alive and his dick was huge, too. Alpha stamina meant he could go for days without sleep and live on smoothies and protein bars. The pheromones (curtailed by the patch) meant he had a much easier time intimidating or sweet-talking just about everyone. 

In other words, he loved being an Alpha. 

And now, _now_ someone unworthy was challenging him.

And _Steve_ , the guy that Tony was trying to show he could care for and protect? He was the one leading Hammer's giant Ken-doll away. 

"Hey, Tony, should we go after Cap?" Falcon asked, as his wings sparked and fizzled in the water where they had all washed up together under the aircraft carrier. Hawkeye looked half-drowned and was out of arrows, his hair plastered to his head. Hulk looked like an enormous, green, angry cat. 

"Indeed, Iron Man," Thor added. Water streamed out of his armor and his hair was plastered to his face. "Our comrade may need our-" he stopped, gurgling as he half sank under the water, then took to the air. "Assistance."

Tony grit his teeth. Steve thought he could handle the homicidal piece of shit that Hammer had cobbled together? Sure, let him. Let him deal with it by himself. Because he didn't want Tony's help, didn't want Tony to take care of him and make sure he was safe, didn't want Tony to make sure everything was okay and to prove himself. 

The lizard part of Tony's brain showed Tony an image of Steve being taken by Hammer, kept in a cage like a pet, a toy, and it galled like he had worn the armor for five days straight. 

That was, of course, the moment that the AvenJet shot out of his Tower and into cloudless sky. 

"Cap? What the hell are you doing?" Tony yelped into the radio, and his HUD brought up an image of Steve at the AvenJet's controls, face bloodied but determined even as Tony's sensors read off a status report on the jet. 

" _It's called 'adapting!_ '" 

Tony almost couldn't get the words out; he felt like he was frothing at the mouth. "Yeah, great job. Only now the AvenJet has a giant hole in it and you're running out of air!"

There was an awkward silence and Steve was glancing over his shoulder before blurting, " _I meant to do that!_ "

Tony felt cold. Even as his HUD showed him that the temperature regulation on his armor was to his standard preferences, he felt cold in his fingertips and his ears rang as he shot up after the AvenJet, not quite able to match its speeds. Thor followed on his heels as they climbed higher and higher into atmosphere. 

The coms were still on, and Tony kept listening... even as he felt sick that Hammer was still trying to take what was _his_.

Tony wanted to growl as Hammer kept _insinuating_ , telling Steve that Red Skull had promised him dibs. Talked about how pretty his mouth was, that he should give up, that Tony was weak, wouldn't give him the firm hand he deserved. That Steve would never be happy as an Avenger. 

He could hear it though, when Steve managed to get super-puppet maneuvered... because _Steve had memorized all their moves._ Memorized, knew how to counter, and-

The Super-Adaptoid was expelled through the window of the AvenJet in a spray of plastic shards. Tony hit it with a uni-beam, and Thor slammed it with his hammer- and the Super Adaptoid _shattered_.

_Steve's fine, Steve's fine, please, Steve, be all right..._

Tony found Steve, holding on to the wrecked AvenJet, face covered by an Iron Man helmet and holding one of Hawkeye's bows in his free hand. 

_"Tony!"_

Relief flooded him, and leaving him limp in his armor. Without a word, he wrapped himself around Steve, listening to him wheeze with his limited air supply. _"We'll getcha back home safe,"_ he told Steve, not bothering to listen in, grateful that Steve's uniform was air-tight, and pulled Steve to his chest.

Typically, Steve protested. 

That didn't matter. What mattered was getting Steve _home_. Home, and safe. Safe where he needed to be. So Tony could look after him. Make him better. Keep him from being hurt.

Steve angled his shield to keep from burning up as they streaked back into atmosphere, the drag slowing them down. They didn't speak, but Tony could hear Steve's small gasps for air as the rebreather started hitting its limits; the sound was small, weak. Helpless. _Nobody did that to his Steve_.

He put more power into the repulsors, rolling so that he and the shield took the rest of the heat on re-entry. The sensors in his armor guided him in, and he tried to tune out the sound of Steve's wheezes.

They came back to the Tower... and Tony stopped, mid-air.

There was a great gaping wound in the tower where the AvenJet had been ejected. The glass around the landing pad hadn't been cleaned up by the nanobots; the shards glittered in the sun. _His_ territory.

Tony dropped to the landing platform, ignoring Steve as he tried to get his attention. 

_Hammer_. Hammer had done this. _Hammer_ had called him out on TV, had interrupted his time with Steve, had made him look bad _in front of Steve_. Steve. Hammer. 

Hammer had to pay.

~*~*~*~*~

Steve had spent a lifetime getting punched. A lifetime of taking hits. He had had his teeth crack and his bones broken so often it was his default state.

Yet none of those blows felt as unfair as this one, watching Tony snarl and shoot into the sky. 

Under normal circumstances, Tony was a chatterbox. He never shut up. He would talk about everything. Usually he would tease, mess with people, gloat, or boast. A silent Tony was a stranger. Silent Tony...

A chill ran down Steve's back. "JARVIS, can you hear me?" he asked his com. 

_"Yes, Captain,"_ responded the AI. 

"Where's Tony going?" He had a sinking feeling that he knew.

 _"Upstate New York,"_ JARVIS answered after a moment. Steve rubbed his sore jaw, but was grateful his lip had already healed. 

"Verify address?" 

JARVIS did so... and the name that came up confirmed Steve's worst fears. "Get the Avengers. We have to stop Tony from doing something very, very stupid."

~*~*~*~*~

Tony was damn good at crashing parties. He was even better at making an entrance.

He dropped through the ceiling at Hammer's little self-congratulations party; the online invitation said it was a press conference announcing the defeat of the Avengers by the Super-Adaptoid. 

That was from the screenshot, of course. The actual invitation had been deleted approximately four minutes before when it became obvious that the Adaptoid wasn't coming back. 

Four minutes was not enough time to get all of the press out of the room. They were scattered through the room, around tables and sipping champagne. The dancers were still on the stage underneath falling confetti as Tony dropped through the ceiling, doing a three-point landing and getting to his feet. 

Silence lay a heavy blanket over the room as he stood there under the disco ball and bright blue spotlights, the assembled throng still to keep from attracting Tony's attention.

Barely any of this registered. There were ants. Unimportant. They didn't matter. They weren't threats. Unimportant. The screams, sounds, all of it was unimportant. _Hammer_ was the threat. Hammer wanted to- Hammer. _Hammer_.

Hammer was standing behind a wall of security guards, eyes bugging out behind his glasses as he scrambled away. His body heat was high, face flushed, and sweating through his Armani suit and backing his way towards the door. The way out was blocked, though, by most of the guests realizing Tony didn't want _them_ , and were smart enough to make a break for it.

He strode forward, slapping aside Hammer's bully-boys and ignoring the bullets pinging off his armor. 

"Hey, Stark," Hammer croaked, jumping when a ricochet slammed passed his foot. "Ha, ha, did you, um, enjoy the exercise?" 

Tony didn't answer with words, just snarled and darted in to grab Hammer around the throat. "Look, Stark, I'm sorry. You couldn't blame me for wanting him, could you? I mean, look at him! Look at him! You didn't say he was yours!"

"Tony."

The sound was distant, far away from the visceral joy of seeing Hammer shake, eyes bulging out and his face turning purple as he _squeezed_.

" _Tony!_ " Closer, yes, the voice was closer, but unimportant as he did the math, measured _exactly_ how much force he could put on Hammer's throat before crushing it-

" _Security override Mark 48, authorization Rogers, Steven Grant! JARVIS, pop the helmet!_ "

Cool air hit Tony's face, along with the acrid fear-smell and the scent of piss radiating off Hammer in waves. The armor didn't transmit the pressure, but he saw the hand on his arm.

"Tony, I'm here. You won." Steve put his hand over Tony's, the one that was strangling Hammer. His voice was soft, concerned. "You beat him. That's what matters. I'm here." He stepped into Tony's space, pulling off his cowl. 

And Tony breathed in.

He couldn't find _words_. They scattered, shattered and fell to dust in his hands as Steve got in closer. He growled, burying his face in Steve's neck. He could feel the muscles of Steve's jaw working, but it didn't matter. Not when Steve- he could finally _smell_ Steve.

He dropped Hammer to put his hands on Steve's waist and just _breathed_. Good, god he was _so good-_ sweet and warm-  
Steve was talking, moving away, and Tony growled, tightening his grip on Steve's hips. A whisper. " _Hammer. Leave. Get out of here._ "

"Are you kidding? He attacked me!" 

"And you provoked him." Steve grunted as Tony backed him towards stage right, hands drifting down to squeeze his ass. "By law, you're both at fault for this. If you turn yourself in now you might keep your company."

"You can't tell me what to do, bitch."

Tony hissed, but Steve ran his fingers over Tony's forehead and he _purred_. Damn, but Steve felt so good. 

"You're being an idiot," Steve said back, and Tony frowned. It meant Steve wasn't paying attention to _him_. "You challenged the Avengers on TV. There are probably thousands of witnesses-"

A snarl tore through the air as six of Hammer's drones erupted through the floor, spraying splinters, and Hammer threw himself at Steve.

Tony spun around, trying to stay between Hammer and Steve, but Steve was a slippery bastard, dropping and rolling to the side and putting his finger to his ear and yelling. The drones all centered in on Tony, who took to the air.

"He mean that much to you, Stark? He's used goods, you know that, right?" Hammer said, stammering as Steve dodged both him and a drone, and Tony blasted the wall behind both of them. "He's trash. You know what Skull's going to use him for?"

Steve flipped and used his shield to crack open the skull of the drone, before ripping through its spine. Tony deployed his shoulder missiles for the rest-

And the ceiling exploded, shattering the remains of the drones as Hulk and Thor dropped through the remains of the ceiling, followed by Falcon and Hawkeye on the sky bikes. 

Tony didn't answer, but he did start to power up his unibeam. 

"Tony- Tony _no!_ " Steve yelled as the others ran between Tony and Hammer, blocking them. "Don't. He's beaten! I swear, he's _defeated_ -"

Tony shook his head. It was just noise. He needed to take out the other Alpha or his territory would never be-

Steve lunged in, grabbing Tony's head and leaning in. "Tony. Tony, I need you to _listen_ to me. Please. You aren't a murderer. You aren't a killer. You can control yourself. Come _on_ , Tony. Losing control is what Hammer wants you to do. _Snap out of it._ "

Steve. Steve mattered. Steve was the person he wanted to impress, right? To protect? And he was...

He was that guy his father had always talked about. The guy he had been held up to his whole life. Steve was telling him to stop ( _because you can trust Captain America, right?_ ) and-

The world went from blurry, out of focus backdrop to crystal sharp clarity in a heartbeat. Tony looked around, jaw hanging open. He had fought before. He had killed before. But he had never- not someone who was helpless.

The air scorched his throat and burned his lungs, sweat dripping in his eyes and he shook his head. He... he felt like he was being sucked down in hot mud. He tried to swim back upwards. But he could trust Cap. 

He sent the command, letting the armor fall into a heap at his feet and the floor lurched away from him. "Cap?" he rasped out as Steve stumbled towards him, holstering his shield. Tony fell forward, chest heaving like a bellows. "What the hell?"

"It's okay, Tony," Steve whispered, solid arms holding Tony up as his knees collapsed. "You're fine. It's going to be okay. Just relax."

That was when he heard laughter in the background. 

"All of this." Hammer was laughing, clapping his hands, almost hysterical, and Tony found the rage try to reassert itself and he swallowed it down. Instead exhaustion wrestled him down like Hulk giving a love tap.

"All of this, for some stupid Omega cunt."

The words barely registered as the light faded around. 

But the feeling of Steve going tense at the sudden photo flashes certainly did.

~*~*~*~*~

Bucky had thought he had known the 'rules' about being an Alpha. Alphas fought each other, they didn't make friends, they fucked everything fertile within a five mile radius. They lost their marbles when their territory was threatened.

Jack Fury was damn good at breaking those rules. 

Given that he was a black man, a black Alpha, who hadn't been shot and had worked his way up through the ranks with a dogged determination that even Cap envied, Bucky wasn't in the least bit surprised. He was experienced, wise, and to Bucky's extreme annoyance, exercised more self-control around Cap than any Alpha should have been capable of.

Because keeping his hands to himself was driving Bucky up the wall.

"Right, didn't you have this problem a few weeks ago?" Jack asked, eyebrow cocked upwards while they watched Steve give a carefully edited debrief about what happened with Dracula and how they had a new, if very unusual, ally. An unreliable, but very powerful, ally. 

Steve happened to be Steve at that moment, doing Steve things. All of which meant that Bucky was grateful for the clipboard in his lap.

"Shut your mouth."

Jack's smile was evil. "Right." He rolled his eyes as the debrief wound to a close, and when Steve walked past Bucky surged to his feet to follow. He could see Jack's cheerfully malicious one finger salute as he followed Steve out.

He wanted to touch Steve, but they were in public, with soldiers and secretaries and egg-heads scurrying about like so many ants. Yet...  
Steve had been distant, since Bucky had been injured fighting Master Man. Stayed away. There had been barely any time to themselves but Bucky was _okay_. Just a bump on the noggin. He'd been on top of his game more than ever since the whole Dracula thing and it was getting on his nerves that Steve was treating him with kid gloves.

Not to mention the whole 'can't touch someone might see' thing. Which, if Bucky had to guess, was the cause of Steve's panicked expression as Bucky fell in-step beside him.

Bucky had been seeing that a lot, lately. In the mess, the showers (hey, he had just been offering to play lookout!) on missions, in their tent-

"Cap," he said, putting his hand on Steve's elbow, and Steve stopped, tilting his head to the side as Bucky blocked his path. "Can we-"

"I have a meeting."

"I just wanted to ask-"

"It's with Peggy, and we don't have a lot of time." Steve's voice cracked and his fingers twitched. "We can talk later." He shifted his weight back for a moment, before firming his jaw and brushing past Bucky.

Bucky watched Steve's back, feeling his jaw work as frustration and loneliness started to gnaw their way through his stomach. There were other Alphas there, because there were always Alphas drawn to fights, and if they knew or tasted or tried to take Steve-

Like the Alpha right behind him.

Jack Fury was staring at him, leaning against the wall. "Come on, kid, let's talk."

It went against all of his instincts, but Bucky followed.

~*~*~*~*~

"You touched an officer," Jack said, as soon as they found an empty corridor. "You realize that?"

Bucky opened his mouth, then shut it again. 

"You two want to continue your affair? I get it. Hell, I've been young and in love too. Just remember that you keep acting like this you're gonna get in trouble. You give him away, acting like you're about to go into rut any time he's around someone with a dick? You can bet your ass that he's going to go through hell. They can't take being Captain America from him, but you can imagine the kind of shit that they'll put him through. And if you make to the end of the war? And they don't need you two?" Jack shook his head. "Passing for a beta has kept him alive until now. You know that, right? Trust me when I tell you that romantic last stands aren't near as much fun as they sound."

Jack smacked him upside the head. 

"He's still Cap, and you gotta hold it together." Jack crossed his arms. "You smell like you're about rip the balls of any man who steps too close to you and jump the next dame who does the same. Anyone who's gotta useful nose gets it. And that isn't helping him stay under cover."

Bucky grunted, and his shoulders fell as he looked away. 

"I'm giving you this lecture now, but you bet your ass I'll give it to him later, because he's just as bad. You know he stayed with you after you threw yourself at Master Man? Set up a desk beside your cot and didn't leave?" Jack's voice was soft, barely above a whisper. "He still worked, but he refused to leave your side. Kept an eye on you the whole time. I reckon he thought you were about to breathe your last."

Bucky went still, and shook his head. "Jack-" He hadn't know. "It was just a bump-"

Jack's eyes narrowed. "It wasn't just a damn bump. You broke your damn fool neck, kid."

Bucky gaped at him.

"What, Cap didn't tell you?"


	10. Want and unwanted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for sexual assault and medical torture at the end.

Steve hadn't been lying. He had needed to speak with Peggy. It had taken a great deal of self-control to brush past Bucky the way he had, and he was left with a stomach churning with nausea, frustration and longing. He had kept his eyes down, instead striding through the early morning dim towards the dorms where Peggy was quartered. He was so lost in thought he hadn't bothered to knock.

"Peg- Agent Carter- could you- I need-" Steve said, stopping and stuttering as his hands flapped in the air... and promptly covered his eyes.

Peggy was in her slip and stockings, hair in pins and holding a tube of blood red lipstick, mouth hanging open. "Why, yes, Captain Rogers. Come in," she hissed, before grabbing his right forearm- Steve's hands stayed firmly over his eyes- and yanking him inside. "Come in, come in, make yourself at home!" Her voice rose, eyes wide and eyebrows arched as she pushed him to the chair in front of her vanity. He could feel the heat roll of her skin in the cool air, smell the cloying perfume mixed in with her cosmetics as he peeked through his fingers.

Peggy was still standing there, hands on her hips, head tilted to the side. "I take it there is a reason you came barging in here?"

Steve nodded as he dropped his hands, and tried to look her in the eye... and then dropped them. 

"Steve?" she asked, voice going soft as she stared at his face. "What- what happened?"

There was so much he wanted to say. "I- I need more... of the stuff you gave me." He spoke in barely more than a whisper. 

She looked blank for a moment, before realization dawned. Her eyes darted over his face, his hands, that he was hunched over like he was expecting a punch. 

"Steve. Is there someone I need to have a very stern talking to?"

Steve tried to look up but his eyes skittered away again. "Y-no. It's not... It's not what you think?"

"You can't be- Steve. What should I be thinking?" Her hands were on her hips and her head tilted to the side, but her voice and lips dripped concern. Steve didn't know if he should be embarrassed or if he wanted to bask in it. 

He tried to get the words out. He did. He managed to stutter something about Dracula- that he had been constantly wearing the diaphragm because Bucky-

"Bucky?"

"We- um." Steve felt his face get hot. "Yes?"

"Fifteen year old Bucky?"

This got Steve's attention. "He turned eighteen a week ago-"

"And you're twenty-five!" she said, voice rising to a loud hiss. 

"I'm twenty-two." Steve was utterly nonplused. 

"As far as the world knows, you are." Peggy sighed, and then sat down on her bed. "And you're so afraid of your beau that you've been, what, constantly using your diaphragm because..."

Steve grimaced, and shook his head. "I'm not afraid of him." 

"Are you sure? Tell him to back off." Steve's face went red as she said that, and her eyes widened before her smile turned sly. "Or are you hoping he won't?" Steve did his best impersonation of a tomato. "It's okay to set limits and to want sex, Steve. Even if this situation is complicated."

"That's not it, exactly." His face felt like it was on fire. "After Dracula and... everything, it felt safer. And I'm kind of.."

Peggy muttered. Steve flinched when she got up and put her hand on his head. Her fingers carded through his short hair.

"Can you say anything more?"

Steve tried. He really did. But it was too knotted and gnarled to make any sense. How could he explain his feelings, this mess of confusion, guilt, frustration- Bucky had been injured, and Steve had taken a gamble. Because Dracula's price had seemed strange and ridiculous. Because the monster had taken an unholy glee in using Bucky. 

And Steve hadn't told Bucky about all of it.

Peggy pulled away, going her closet. "Keep coming to me for supplies, Steve," she called over her shoulder. "If the nurses talk about me being unusually greedy- well." She turned back to him, her eyes twinkling. "I'll blame you."

Steve managed to choke out a laugh.

*~*~*~*~*

Tony had woken up the persistent, annoying beep of the heart monitor.

He knew where he was even before he opened his eyes: back in Avengers Tower, in the Med Bay. His memories were hazy. He tried to reach through them but they _burned_. He remembered feelings of anger, hate, and finally a dizzy amount of lust so strong he had snapped out of the-

Tony's eyes snapped open as the sensations sharpened into images. Himself, fighting Hammer. Nearly killing Hammer. Steve letting Tony _scent_ him, and- and-

Tony got off the bench and hobbled, awkwardly, to the adjoining bathroom. He indulged in a long, hot shower, and ignored the persistent beep if his Avengers ID. And when he was done, he look a long, hard look in the mirror.

Well. 

Well.

For a futurist, he really should have seen this coming.

He took a few moments to look at himself, to try to think about what had happened. Because it sure as hell had been embarrassing: not only had Hammer built something that worked, Steve had been the one to defeat it. Because Steve...

Tony let his head drop against the mirror. He hadn't seen _that_ coming at all.

He stepped into his pants and pulled them up, blindly reaching for his card. "Yeah, Cap, I hear you. I'll be there in ten."

" _You better_ ," said Widow. Her voice was strained, tinny as it was. " _But you know your hormone patch needed changing a month ago?_ "

"What?"

" _Yeah, and you're not coming out of Med Bay until you've changed it. Capiche?_ "

Tony bared his teeth. " _Excuse me_ if me being an Alpha bothers you like it does Cap."

" _We'll have_ that _conversation after you get the damn patch on. Get your ass out here, Tony. You just exploded social media._ "

~*~*~*~*~

"Well, this looks awful," Hulk said, sitting on the couch in front of the TV with one hand stuck in a giant jar of peanut butter. It was already half empty. Thor was sitting beside him, but there was a seriousness on his face that belied his usual boisterous cheer.

Hawkeye was perched on the balcony behind the couches, while Sam and Natasha were sitting across from Thor and Hulk. Sam was looking twitchy as hell, like someone had just insulted his mom, and Natasha... well. He had seen Natasha just get cold when she was angry. Now she looked like she wanted to rip out a spine. 

"Bout time you showed up." She stood, prowling forward to yank up his shirt up and spin him around. "Where is it?"

"On my right thigh," Tony answered, but it came out muffled because his shirt was over his head. "You want me to drop my pants?"

" _Yes!_ " The sentiment was echoed by the rest of the Avengers, along with Widow, and Tony would have thrown his hands up in the air if they were free. Instead he settled for tossing off his shirt. 

"What, when did I turn into the bad guy?" Tony asked, reaching for his belt buckle when Widow pointed her gauntlets at him. He opened the fly and button and let them drop around his knees, leaving him in only his boxer shorts. Everyone was staring at him as he turned to show off the patch about mid-thigh. "Hammer tried to bite off more than he could chew, Cap showed that even a non-tech nostalgia guy could handle his toys and I decided to show Hammer the error-"

There was a faint click as the TV suddenly turned on and the 3-D hologram unfolded around it, showing a dozen channels, all of them with talking heads detailing Tony's rampage. Some were calling Hammer an innocent business man- which earned a snort from everyone there- but others were calling his action legitimate, pointing out that Tony had been acting recklessly and all Hammer had done was expose Tony as a threat. Tony was a loose cannon. 

"Oh, come on," Tony muttered, hopping past Widow to find the remote. 

"It's not wrong, Tony," a tired, unhappy voice said, and Tony looked to see Steve, coming out from an adjacent room. 

Tony blinked and looked around. Steve had positioned himself beside the door. His mask was off, but unlike everyone else, he was still in full uniform, shield on his back. 

"Hammer provoked us and got lucky with his toy," Tony said, and he was suddenly well aware that Steve was looking at him with his pants down. He scrambled to pull them up. "He was just another villain we took out. That he was trying to be a big macho Alpha is irrelevant." He took a step towards Steve, hunched forward and baring his teeth.

Steve leaned away from him before straightening his back and shoulders, staring him in the eyes and lowering his chin. 

Tony was the one to drop his eyes and look away as the lecture started. 

"Tony, you could have seriously hurt someone..."

There was a ticker on the side of the TV holograms, scrolling through the deluge of tweets, tumblr posts, FaceBook comments and whatever new social media was popular that week. Tony put his eyes there.

The posts went from the mostly rational to diving off the deep end of crazy: _Hammer was a fool to try to fight someone as strong as Tony. Hammer was doing the only thing he could do for the love of his life..._

"Red Skull knows you're an Alpha now. He knows you don't control yourself, and you better believe he'll find a way to-"

_...Tony had locked up his girlfriend, some poor Omega, and Hammer was trying to rescue her the only way he could. The Omega should just come out and choose instead of forcing two great men to fight..._  
_...Omegas were whores, the lot of them. Omegas were bitches, needy sluts who used men to get what they wanted..._

Tony frowned, and looked up to see that Steve had stopped talking. He had gone from pinched to bone white, both hands flat on his belly as he looked at the comments.

_think stark bred th btch up?_  
_U no it.  
o fuck, u thnk there fighten bout a gaddam hyena btch?_

"Use it against me? Like Red Skull knows you're an Omega?" Tony said, spitting the words out. "Like you didn't tell us after we've known you for, what, almost two years?"

"Exactly like how he's using it against me," Steve said. His voice was flat but his hands were still covering his middle. 

_Damn btches ruin everhting  
Wanna find that bitch and wreck her cunt_

Tony paused, watching as Steve's breathing became more shallow as his eyes dilated and his hands started to shake. "Well, you know trolls-"

Steve shook his head, opening his mouth to answer, then shutting it again. His breathing stopped being shallow and fell into a quick pattern of two short puffs and one long exhale.

"Cap?" 

He didn't answer, just breathing, before his knees buckled and he fell into a squat, still breathing in that weird pattern. "CAP?"

This wasn't- this _couldn't_ be happening. Cap didn't bend or break. Cap could go through two months of Skrull torture, everyone think he betrayed the world and _that_ fallout and still hold on to hope. Cap was all that was good and moral and fibrous and kinda old fashioned -apple-pie niceness and _he wasn't allowed to fall apart_. Tony started forward, but Widow grabbed his hand. "Keep calm and call his name," she whispered.

"The good Captain did this after you were safely ensconced in the Med Bay," Thor said, walking over to where they were, but no closer. "But it was... brief." The rest of the Avengers quickly joined the ring. "Hence our concern that you were duly medicated."

None tried to touch Cap at all.

"Cap? You okay?" Clint called. Steve didn't acknowledge him, or anyone.

The weird breathing pattern would falter, turning long and deep for several breathes before resuming. 

"Steve?" Tony murmured, trying to get his attention again. Steve had shifted to his knees, hands braced on the floor, and Tony twitched as he watched the cold sweat run down Cap's face. 

"Steve."

It was terrifying, seeing Steve so lost. The man who had fought without hesitation, with faith in himself, had survived being frozen for sixty-five years, and the loss of everything he knew was kneeling on the floor as a catatonic wreck. But bit by bit, he came back, color returning to his face and his eyes shrinking to normal. The trembling in his hands eased... and Tony wondered what other basic laws of the universe had been broken that day.

Steve having a PTSD episode was the last thing he had expected to ever see. It was like being told that JARVIS was going on vacation, or that one plus two equaled five.

There was silence in the room as the rest of the Avengers watched Steve drop his eyes, backing away. "Hey, Cap," Falcon began, but Steve shook his head.

"I- I need to go. We can finish this- Widow, contact SHIELD." He went back to rubbing his belly and pain flashed over his face. "I need to talk to my doctor tomorrow. I- I can't, tonight. I don't think... not tonight." His face was red and blotchy. "Falcon, can you keep on an eye on the media? Let me know when," his voice faltered, and Tony wanted to go dig a hole and bury himself. "Let me know when they figure out that I'm... I'm an Omega."

He exhaled. "Hawkeye, keep an eye on our defenses. Red Skull's planning something." 

"I'll talk to Fury about this," Widow said, stepping to the side so the way was clear for Steve to leave. "Take it easy."

Steve chuckled, weakly, before bracing his forearm around his middle again. The tremor in his voice was still there as he said, "You too. Just... give me some time. I'll be fine."

They all stared at Cap, but decided to allow him the dignity of the lie as his shoulders slump and walked out of the living room.

Tony swallowed hard after Steve left. "So this whole thing _wasn't_ about getting me to underestimate Justin Hammer and make an ass of myself in public."

"No." Widow was looking out the window before sitting and crossing her arms. 

"Does S.H.I.E.L.D. know about Cap?" Sam asked, twiddling his thumbs. "Because, yeah, this is kinda blowing my mind here."

Widow just exhaled. "Director Carter had a private file that was never entered into the electronic databases. She had instructions, that should Steve Rogers' body be found, it would be delivered to the current S.H.I.E.L.D. director. So Fury found out after you found Steve in the ice." 

"And you found out before us because-" Tony said.

"Speak for yourself." Hulk was finishing off his peanut butter. "I guessed."

Tony was outraged. "What?" He stared at Hulk, who just shrugged at him and licked his fingers.

"He's got big shoulders, but he wears that big belt with all the pouches to hide his hips. Just throwing that out there," Hulk pointed out, then belched. Clint pointed at Hulk and nodded.

"Fury thought I would need a full debrief. SHIELD kept a close eye on Cap in those days," Widow went on, ignoring them. "He's been through enough trauma to send most people to a padded room; he earned _that_ just waking up in another century. We also left it up to him if he wanted to tell anyone about it."

Tony looked down at his hands as they clenched into fists.

"I'm going," Tony announced, spinning on his heel. He needed to get away. He had realized Steve was hiding something but- but this-

It was the twenty-first century. Yeah, he got that Steve was born in a different time and that sex-morphs -Alphas who were assigned female at birth, and Omegas assigned male at birth- were still treated with a lot of distrust. 

But Steve knew Tony. It wasn't a big deal. He should have trusted Tony from the beginning.

Really.

Tony needed to get some air.

~*~*~*~*~

Steve hadn't let himself cry since Fury had told him about Ian.

Get up, be strong, never falter. Never show weakness. Don't burden others with that weakness. His mother had never actually said those things, but she lived them. He had never heard her cry, never heard her complain, saw her get to her feet time and again after Joseph had knocked her down.

He ducked his head under the hot water and tried to pretend it was all just spray from the shower.

His chest and belly were tender, the impact from the water almost, but not quite, painful. His doctor had said this was 'symptomatic of his impending ovulation'. It mixed with leftover nausea and arousal from the miasma caused by being in a room with two angry, almost-rutting Alphas. He would have bet even odds that Red Skull had put Justin Hammer up to this shit to see how Steve would react.

The heat from the shower helped. Some. He didn't feel like he had swallowed jagged shards of ice anymore. 

It was a good forty minutes before he was able to get himself to leave the shower, toweling off and padding into the main room of his suite.

Where Tony, in his armor sans helmet, was waiting for him.

He was sitting on the long, overstuffed sofa in the middle of the room, facing the tall coffee table that doubled as Steve's desk. His eyes were fixed on the drinking glass Steve had used to salvage his sweet peas after this afternoon's attack.

"What are you doing here?"

Tony smirked at him, getting to his feet, eyes lingering over Steve's naked skin in a way that had Steve grabbing for a towel to cover himself. "I wanted to see you... Cap. I heard you weren't feeling so well."

Steve stepped away. The room, his room, was thick with the smell of Alpha, and Steve wrinkled his nose at it. There was something definitely wrong here.

"Tony, why-"

"You smell so good, Captain," Tony breathed, cutting Steve off from the exit. His lips were pulled back, more bared teeth than smile. "You should know better than to parade yourself around like that, especially when you are so close to your time." He came in closer, and Steve's eyes darted around. The table was too far to use as a weapon. Tony was between himself and the bed where his shield lay. He had been cut off from the door.

And Tony was in his armor. 

The damn smell was making his stomach churn. It was strong, musky, and it should have made Steve fall to his knees but instead just made him sick. If it had been Bucky he would have already grabbed a condom and pushed him against the wall, legs open and cunt dripping, eager. 

Steve met Tony's eyes and telegraphed to the door-

And dived for his shield. 

He was tackled from behind and went sprawling as the heavy weight of Tony in his armor held him down, before he was thrown on his back and pinned. 

"Yes, Captain, you are going to pay for the indignities you've put me through," Tony hissed, straddling his waist. "You whore." The scent of rutting Alpha clogged Steve's nose, making him cough as he struggled to throw Tony off. "You called yourself a leader of men?" 

Steve got his feet under him and _heaved_ , throwing Tony off into the couch. He scrambled to his feet to get to his shield.

The smell, the goddamn _smell_ \- his legs were jelly- 

"They followed you like a pack of dogs after a bitch in heat," Tony called, before the repulsor blast caught Steve in the back, sending him crashing into a wall, shield out of reach. "Not because you were a capable commander. I should have seen what you were _years_ ago and spared myself the effort of thinking you worthy."

Steve caught himself, lunged to dodge when the other man caught him by the throat. "I should kill you now," he said, offhandedly, and squeezed. Steve tasted blood in his mouth, but kicked out, feebly. 

"But I need you alive." 

He shifted his grip, and mashed his lips against Steve's.

The root biological causes of kissing are varied. Everything from mothers pre-masticating food for their infants, to being able to taste the immune systems of potential mates. One thing science did agree on, was that Alphas were able to use it to induce intense arousal in their lovers.

Steve shuddered, holding still for one moment too long as he struggled to breathe. Then he hollered, as metal teeth dug into the back of his neck, sending him to the floor as his knees collapsed. 

"This is how you should be," Tony murmured, and Steve realized he couldn't move, but he could feel. "On your back, legs spread, ready to service me on a whim." 

The towel around Steve's waist had fallen when this mess had started, and Tony pushed Steve's knees apart. "You fooled me once, Captain. Made me believe I could use you as my new host," Tony said, accent thickening to something from Steve's nightmares. "But you- you're a weak, broken _Omega_." 

"Where's Tony?" Steve demanded, even as he tried to wrench control back below his neck. 

"Why, I'm right here, my Captain," Tony said, smiling like a cat. He placed a small, flat plate on Steve's belly, before leaning down to give Steve another kiss.

Steve had control of his body from his collarbone up. That meant the head butt didn't do much damage- but it did cause a bright shimmer to pass over 'Tony's' face. And Steve realized there had been no nose for him to bite.

It was a holographic mask. "Red Skull."

"Indeed." He tapped the flat plate on Steve's belly. "I could have sent an underling but... your ultimate humiliation at my hand seemed so much more... satisfying." A 3D image of Steve's insides appeared... and zoomed down this ovaries. "You are pathetic, Steven Rogers. You are subject to the same frailties all breeders are." He pulled out a large, round syringe and thick needle, and Steve tried to wrench control of his body back. He failed.

"You are not worthy of being my new form," Red Skull said, and Steve bit his cheek until it bled as the needle went up inside his vagina and pierced the wall. 

"But our children? Yes, they will be... magnificent."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I actually had considered a smut scene, then I considered a rape-by-fraud scene, and then you get the big fight. But I thought Steve, having had a major PTSD episode, wouldn't be up for sexy times at all, and there you go.


	11. Chapter 11

Tony didn't know where he was going to go. He considered putting on the suit and just heading UP and maybe to the dark side of the moon for awhile. His feelings were a great big fucking mess.

But that wouldn't answer any questions, and Tony was sick of being in the dark. He remembered the frustration, the paranoia of the Skrull invasion the previous year. He had completely overlooked the most obvious person to be the Skrull, because people trusted Captain America. Because the Skrull had continued training with him, doled out scorn in just the right places and dribbled out just enough flattery to ease Tony's ego, and let Tony build the nice new energy shield after Steve's original one had been broken. Looking back, Tony should have recognized the manipulation for what it was. But he had been so happy for those scraps of approval from Cap that...

Tony stopped, grimaced and looked down at his hands. 

He'd been angry at Cap, when he had found out about the Skrull that replaced him. So had Clint and Carol. All three of them had known it wasn't Steve's fault. Cap had managed to escape and brought hope back to their team. Their heads had known. 

But that Skrull had worn Steve's face and their hearts and trust had been shattered. They had done their best to win back the world's trust afterwards, but it had taken awhile for their own to return, too.

His head gets it. He had read on how sex-morphs were treated. Omegas that were male gendered or gender-fluid faced very miserable lives. Hell, odds were the only reason Steve was allowed into the Super Soldier Program was because they thought he was disposable. 

But that meant the Cap he knew wasn't the real Steve. Not really. 

He called the armor without thinking, walking out on the balcony away from the other Avengers, who had already formed small huddles to talk about happened. He considered trying to get more information from Widow, but that would be useless. She's a spy. She wasn't going to give anything up that Fury wouldn't allow.

So he was going to go straight to the source.

Tony launched himself into the air. _"JARVIS- show me Cap's medical records at S.H.I.E.L.D. Hack the files."_

Tony was an engineer. He fixed things. He wasn't a medical expert of any kind. But he could read a medical chart and understand what it said. He could look at x-rays and the notes that went with them.

Rogers, Steven. Sex: I, Gender: M, height, weight, blah blah blah. 

The x-rays noted dozens, if not hundreds, of healed breaks. The serum might allow his body to regenerate quickly, and kept his skin from scarring, but Steve's skeleton was another story. There was bone callus throughout. Mostly in his hands, from catching the shield and punching bad guys, and his ribs from catching punches. His legs, arms, and even his pelvis, though, had not been spared; it looked like at some point his tailbone had cracked and there was pitting on his pubic bone where it looked like ligaments had torn and reattached. 

Heat cycles were noted as irregular after awakening. Birth control pills or other regulating hormones had been considered then rejected after a short trial and blood test, as Steve's body filtered them out too fast to be effective. Eventually a copper IUD was decided on because it would kill sperm and inflame the lining as opposed to attempting to regulate Steve's hormones long term. Pheromones would be controlled using a solution of salts and antibacterial gel that killed the bacteria that actually produced human body odor, thereby bypassing his body's well known adaptive abilities. The main disadvantage to this was that Steve, and his costume, would need frequent washing with the solution.

_Well. That explained why Steve had gone from no smell at all to smelling like sex on legs after some exercise. And why he wore his air-tight uniform so often._

Last examination: two weeks ago for treatment of involuntary removal of his IUD, was given a replacement. No trauma found, though the lining of his uterus was thicker than was typical. There were traces of unknown drugs in his system, which resembled gonadotropin hormones: follicle stimulating hormones. 

_Two weeks ago, the Red Skull had switched bodies with Cap._

Tony stopped mid-air and gagged, barely stopping himself from vomiting as he landed on the Tri-Carrier. As a result he was quickly surrounded by SHIELD agents, and a very pissed off Maria Hill stood in front of him.

He ignored the guns pointed his way. _"I need to speak to your boss. Now."_

Fury didn't look surprised to see him when he arrived, having doffed the armor. It was the only way he could get in without a lot of people throwing their weapons at him in a useless way that would result in lots of friendly fire that would make Cap frown. He wasn't sure what his feelings were right now, but making Cap frown was usually bad.

"Got your head out of your ass, have you Stark?" Fury said, not bothering to look up at him, ignoring a call on his phone. "Because we're trying to keep the ugly shit suppressed." 

"I want to see Steve's original files."

This time Fury looked up at him. "No."

"Why not? The cat's out of the bag, Fury. Someone puts it together with me sniffing Steve and turning into Big Alpha Man on him, he'll be outed as an Omega whether he likes it or not," Tony said, feeling himself vibrating. "I already hacked his current files." He said and shuddered, the memory of Steve in the middle of a PTSD episode making him squirm. "Steve just had a goddamn nervous breakdown in front of the whole team because of internet trolls. What's in that file?"

"A hell of a lot of commendations and citations for bravery, sacrifice, and leadership." Fury leaned back and met Tony's gaze, pressing his fingertips together. "Listen. During the war, he was ordered to keep his sex under wraps." Fury exhaled. "You know what the exact wording of his orders were?"

"I would _know_ if you let me see the file, but I'll take a guess. Was it 'be an uptight asshole'?"

Fury's eye pinned Tony to the floor, just as his cell phone started going off again and was silenced. This time Tony noticed it was something weird and old fashioned. "'Don't tell anyone. Don't let anyone find out. _Don't go whoring around._ '" He tapped his fingers on his desk while Tony blanched. "Yeah. They were real supportive of him like that. Maybe the army brass thought they had to do it. After all, he was the only successful result of the serum. On top of that, the kid was propaganda gold. He was downright pretty before Operation: Rebirth. After that, well." Fury cocked an eyebrow. "He was pretty _and_ useful. But you have someone who lived his entire life in the closet, was ordered to stay in the closet, and wakes up in a time where people have an image of who Captain America should be and he sure as hell isn't that... I can't say I blame him for keeping his mouth shut, whatever his reasons." 

Tony wanted to growl, get sick, blow something up; he needed to do something that wasn't stand there impotently and fume. "What does Skull want?"

"Your armor can help support his bones and muscles, but the arc reactor isn't in his chest like your glorified pacemaker," Fury said, nodding to Tony's chest. "He's still dying. All stealing your armor did was buy him some time. If he wants a new body, well, he's going to have to find a different way to do it."

_Kiss me once and kiss me twice and kiss me once again-_ "Dammit," Fury muttered and once again hit the ignore button.

"Yeah, because Steve's body is _so_ unfashionable-"

Fury's mouth twisted like he wanted to spit. "There's another incident in Cap's file. Back in '43, they liberated a transport full of Omegas being sent to Skull's soldiers. All were pregnant. All of them had been brutalized. All Omegas were good for, in Skull and HYDRAs eyes, were breeding and sex slaves. Red Skull's not going to lower himself to being in the body of a breeding hyena bitch."

"Yeah." Tony tasted sour bile and looked away. "What's the cliché? Skull's going to be the Adam to Steve's Eve?" He laughed without humor. "Then what?"

"We don't know. We know he's going to go after Cap, we just don't know-" He cut off once more as his phone seemed to get louder than before.

"Maybe you better answer that? And since when do you like big band music-" Tony asked, before Fury's face went utterly apocalyptic. He thumbed the answer button, and held it to his ear and leaned away at the howl that came from the speaker. Even Tony could hear the harsh, gravelly voice.

_"Is Tony Stark with you?"_

"Yes, he's right here-"

_"Then tell him to get his ass out there! Red Skull's attacked Cap and he's heading past the Tri-Carrier- scramble everything NOW!"_

~*~*~*~*~

James had tried to avoid Cap detail.

He had a lot of reasons. 

Coming back to himself had been... Difficult. This year been strange: he had felt like the past sixty-five before that had been almost a dream. If not for the records at S.H.I.E.L.D., the blood and the pain might have felt like it hadn't happened. Like it hadn't been real. There were still holes in his memory of entire decades. And his memories of before the explosion weren't the best, either.

But there were some things he did remember. Small things. 

Wonderful things. 

Things that made him remember he had a heart and made the nightmares worse. 

Yet here he was, all of his leads on the Red Skull dried up and having chased away the protection detail Fury had assigned, finding a perch and watching for when that bastard finally made his move. There was something Red Skull wanted from Steve. James had a good idea of what it was.

They had found a convoy, once. Red Skull's toys. Omegas that the Skull had used, prizes or motivation for his best troops. They had been kept in a state of perpetual pregnancy or heat.

The idea of his Steve being treated like one of those pathetic, dead-eyed, heartbroken souls-

James shuddered. Not going to happen. Whatever his feelings for Steve, he couldn't allow that to happen.

So he had continued watching Steve for the past two days, not interfering (except to change Stark's flower order. Really, Stark? Steve didn't like roses!) even when the Super-Adaptoid attacked. 

The Winter Soldier could recognize a distraction when he saw it. Red Skull had something else planned. 

So he had waited, not giving himself away, hissing and frustrated that Stark had been so stupid. Letting himself get caught. That Steve, that _noble idiot_ had allowed himself be given away because Stark had let himself be baited. The world had changed but Steve would still throw himself on a grenade.

_Goddamn it, Steve._

So he had waited. He hadn't been able to hack the building AI, but he had Natasha smuggle in a few bugs for him. So he had a camera watching Steve's rooms, along with a microphone.

Note: Steve had returned after bringing back Stark, sat down with a StarkPad, then threw it at a wall. He stared at that wall for approximately two hours after that. 

Note: Steve left to talk to his team. The building chatter indicated that Steve had a PTSD episode.

James swallowed, and forced himself to breathe.

His attention was on Steve, as he went back to his suite and collapsed into the shower. James fingers twitched, legs tensing with the urge to go. To do something. To get Tony off his ass. 

He tapped his com. "How's he doing?"

_"Not so good,"_ Natasha answered. _"He read the comments on twitter and... Was it that bad in the forties?"_

"Hm. Worse."

_"They said this filth to his face?"_

James was glad for the mask. "Yes."

_"You have eyes on Cap?"_

"He's in the shower. Find Tony. Get him to go take care of Steve."

_"I- That's not how Tony Stark works. But I'll see if I can nudge him."_

So James waited. The leftover scraps of his soul writhed. He wanted to soothe Steve, hold him and tell him it would be all right, he wanted to scream because Steve deserved better than him, he wanted to tear Stark's arc reactor out because he wasn't where he needed to be. A good Alpha would have already gone to comfort his lover, his mate. Fuck it all, Alphas protected what was theirs. The instinct to protect should have been all that mattered to Stark right then.

James let out a puff of air when he saw Stark enter Cap's suite. 

He skirted the room, pausing in front of Steve's easel, rifling through the sketchpads that James knew would be full of Cap's charcoal drawings. He looked at the pictures on the walls, and finally sat down in front of the pathetic, crushed sweat peas sitting in their small glass. He leaned back, crossed his legs and relaxed.

James frowned. That... something was wrong here.

What exactly was wrong was answered when Cap came out of the shower and... and 'Stark' revealed himself to be the Red Skull.

James grabbed his plasma sniper rifle, watching the two wrestle. The fight went quickly- Skull was in the armor, and knew Cap's moves almost as well as James did- 

Steve tried to scream. Skull slammed his head into the floor and Steve went still.

The bastard was too close to Steve. He couldn't get a clear shot, had to wait... or make an opportunity.

"Widow, Red Skull is in the building. I repeat, Red Skull is in Avengers Tower. Get your asses up there-"

He shouldered his rifle, swearing as the building shook and the Skull yanked the needle free. But he was able to sight, exhale-

The first shot burned through the wall and knocked Skull backwards. The second caught a thin spot in the armor, burning into his shoulder and almost making him drop the syringe. The Skull howled, the building rumbled, and he used the armor repulsors to blow out the side of the suite.

James was about to squeeze off one more shot, but Steve groaned... but he still wasn't moving.

~*~*~*~*~

Steve had tried to scream.

Red Skull had taken his head and bashed it into the floor hard enough for Steve to hear a wet melon crack-

And after that, everything was a daze.

There had been pain. There was always pain when dealing with Red Skull. Not the pain of combat, but the splitting, throbbing pain in his head combined with the feeling of a long, sharp needle prodding inside his guts- and the sight of Skull using the needle to suck out his eggs - and sheer feeling of helpless rage. 

He couldn't _move_. Could barely breathe. It hurt like _birth_ -

Then Skull was tearing the needle free, standing up as the entire building shook. There were gunshots- two of them- and Steve felt vicious satisfaction when Red Skull cried out in pain. He couldn't do anything when Red Skull blew out half of the wall, either. 

"Cap," a voice called, and Steve couldn't focus on the dark figure in front of him. But he knew that voice.

"Bucky?"

"Steve, can you move?"

"You're here," he mumbled, trying to process the words. He didn't know if he wanted to laugh or cry or... or something.

"Yeah, Cap," Bucky said, kneeling. He sounded angry. Steve hissed when Bucky started checking his neck and found the small device embedded at the base. "Damn, smells like Skull," he muttered, yanking the device free.

Sensation rushed through Steve's limbs, but the pain in his gut tripled, feeling like something had torn. He clenched his teeth, biting off a cry. His body didn't have the decency to go into shock.

"Bucky," he whimpered, trying to curl up. His thoughts kept scattering.

"I'm here." The hard metal hand was supporting Steve while the flesh one continued feeling for injuries. "You're going to be okay, Steve." There was a hiss and a flap of air as his own scent mixed with synthetic yarn covered Steve's cold skin. "You're going to be okay."

The building continued to rumble until Steve's door burst in, and Steve tried to roll over to look at the rest of the Avengers as they piled inside.

There was shouting after that, voices, and Steve grayed out in pain when Hulk picked him up to take him to the Med Bay. He could smell Hulk's strange, inhuman odor mixed with panic sweat. He could hear shouting as Thor and Falcon took off after Skull. He bit off a groan as he was placed in the bed, watching as a sharp needle was inserted into his arm.

Then he knew no more.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Hey, squirt!"

Bucky, who had just completed a shot with his rifle, pulled his finger off the trigger and looked towards the voices.

"You talkin' to me?"

The group of three looked to be roughnecks, GIs who had just gotten to England. None were higher in rank than privates. None of them looked all that impressive, except for the big one in the middle. He stank of Alpha- the kind of Alpha who refused to bathe because he liked intimidating people. Only one of them looked vaguely familiar. 

Predictably, there was no one else around.

"Yeah. Our buddy Greg here says you sweet talked his girl while he was out gettin' drinks," the big Alpha said, and Bucky took a step back. The man stank of aggression, spoiling for a fight. "I didn't believe it. Some runt like you?"

Bucky sneered, and deliberately turned his back, putting down his to take it apart to be cleaned. "Hey. What can I say? I let the dames make their own minds up when they come to me," _which is more than I bet you do, bastard_ "and they leave smilin'. If he's jealous, he can wait his turn. As of last month, I'm taken."

_Well. If I can get Steve to actually talk to me again. About this. And my broken neck. And, well,_ everything.

He could heard the Alpha step up behind, sliding forward with his left foot, which meant-

Bucky ducked the blow coming from his right, twisted to the left, punched the other Alpha under his ribs and knocking the air out of him. He stomped the foot of one of the silent friends coming in on the left and then tossed him into Greg ( _oh, hm. Yeah. She was too good for him._ ) and watching them fall like ten pins. 

The Alpha had grabbed Bucky's discarded rifle and swung it, the angle awkward and unable to get any power behind it. The stock caught Bucky across the face- and it stung like fuck, too, might have loosened a tooth- but Bucky just turned to him and smiled.

"Listen, buddy, you might want to back off." There weren't any bullets left in the rifle. The Alpha let out a deep, rumbling growl. "I don't want either of us getting into trouble. Back off now and I won't report you."

"Snot-nosed punk," the Alpha snarled, and swung again. Bucky caught it one handed, twisting and jerking it from his hands.

"Y'know, I can kinda see why people think Alpha fights are so stupid," Bucky said, shit-eating grin intact as he started circling the other man. "I mean, really." The next swing went wild. "We're both adults." Swing. "We should be able to talk this out." Bucky danced to the side, tripping the large man. He hit the floor in time for the two guys to get up. "The dame of yours -small, mousy blond, her name was Lizzy?- she approached me. Her idea. We took a turn on the dance floor and then we took a turn off it." 

Greg howled. "She wouldn't-"

"She came on to _me_ ya jerk," Bucky growled, cracking his fist into the man's chin. He dropped like a stone, just as the Alpha staggered to his feet and let out a wet, angry snarl.

The other guy stared at them both as the Alpha and Bucky began circling each other. He apparently had some sense, because he grabbed Greg by the ankles and dragged his sorry ass off the shooting range.  
The entire area stank of Alpha pheromones as they continued posturing. The scent was heady- his heart was racing and his vision pulsed with it, his teeth were bared as he continued that low, almost subliminal growl, his clothes soaked with sweat as he pumped out pheromones, and his cock got stiff- and they were both sliding towards rut. 

They both balanced for a moment, before Bucky tackled the other Alpha to the dirt, straddled his waist with an arm bar against his neck.

The urge to kill this interloper, this outsider, slid through his mind like oil. His instincts screamed for it: this man wasn't worth the air he breathed, stinking and scaring regular people because he could. This Alpha wasn't protecting his pack, his friends. He was just here to intimidate a younger Alpha into submission.

Bucky dodged the man's spit. "Submit." He bore down, watching the man's face turn red as vicious satisfaction curled in his belly. 

The man tried to buck him off, but Bucky was stronger. Bucky could kill him. He could kill him, easily. He could go find that girl, fuck her, knock her up and keep her (he could smell her on the Alpha under him) and that would be enough. He-

He growled, low and deep, and punched the other Alpha across the face and got to his feet. "Get out of here," he snapped. "You're pathetic. You aren't worth the trouble. Git before I call the MPs and you're court-martialed." 

The Alpha bared his teeth, getting to his feet, about to charge... when his eyes widened, and he backed away.

"I think you should do what he tells you, mister," a soft, deep voice rumbled behind Bucky. He didn't look back, but he could feel the warmth roll off Steve in waves as he stood behind Bucky, putting a large hand on Bucky's shoulder. "Don't make this worse for yourself."

The effect Steve had on Alphas was a strange one, it seemed. His eyes blinked back to sense, before shying away and slinking out like a whipped dog.

The shooting range was silent, and Bucky realized he was still growling. 

"Buck, you with me?"

Bucky closed his eyes, took a deep breath when Steve squeezed his hand. His dick was hard- he was always hard after a fight- and Steve was warm and _there_ and...

He turned to Steve, who stepped back, breath hitching in his chest. "Steve? You okay?"

Steve was staring at him, and even in the dim light he could see the flush on the tips of his ears and staining his cheeks a vibrant red. Bucky blinked at Steve's mouth as Steve licked his lips, turning them slick and shiny even as it drew attention to how pink and swollen they were, and his jaw was slack. His eyes were nearly black, dilated to the point that there was just the barest ring of blue left. 

Bucky had seen that look on the face of quite a few dames. His eyebrows went up as Steve dropped his eyes.

"So," he drawled, and Steve shuddered. Bucky's cock throbbed, as he stepped in close to Steve. The scent was faint- Steve was religious about using the scent blocker- but it was needy Omega. Bucky had only caught whiff of it once before, but the owner had been whisked out of the dance hall by Jack before he could a move. "See something you like?"

"Bucky..." He trailed off, breathy and soft, his chest hitching. Bucky took his hand, turned it over and quickly kissed his wrist. 

Steve yanked his hand free. Then he closed his eyes, choked, putting his fingers on Bucky's lips... and dropped to his knees. "May I taste you?"

Bucky blinked, slowly, and nodded. 

He moaned, nuzzling at the bulge in Bucky's uniform pants, breathing long and deep and hungry. 

"Smelled you once, like this," Steve mumbled, fingers fumbling with Bucky's belt, zipper, and boxers, freeing his erection and sighing audibly as he stroked it. "Watching you move on the dance floor with some dame." His touch was cautious, careful of his strong hands. Bucky felt a surge of lust- Steve was capable of _breaking_ him, like no one ever could- and carded his fingers through Steve's hair. Steve looked up, met his eyes, blushed and looked away even as he pressed his lips to the head of Bucky's shaft.

"Felt so damn filthy," Steve went on. "Watching you and- and I never felt like that- Jack grabbed me and acted like I was drunk off my ass-" he lapped, this flicked his tongue over the tip. "I got jealous. Wanted to be that girl you were going to tumble." He sighed, breath warm and damp on Bucky's cock. "First time..." he hesitated. "First time I _wanted_ someone."

Bucky couldn't stop his lips from jerking when Steve opened his lips again, tongue out and he swallowed down, taking about half his length and gagging. "Oh, god."

There were no more words as Steve sucked him down, following Bucky's tugs on his hair to go harder, deeper, slower or faster. Steve's eyes were half-closed, and the smell of horny, hot, needy Omega got so strong in the air...

Steve's free hand was between his legs, pressing upwards into his pussy. The soaked sound of sopping cloth along with Steve's back arching as he moaned-

Bucky's head fell back, panting, but he tugged Steve's hair and head off him. 

"We gotta lock the door, Steve. And I wanna-"

"Fuck me," Steve croaked. He kept licking his lips as Bucky shuffled to the shooting range door and threw the bolt. 

Maybe they had ten minutes. This particular shooting range was small and not well-trafficked, which was why Bucky liked it. 

Getting the condom out of his pocket, putting it on and asking about Steve's diaphragm took barely a moment.

Then he had Steve against the far wall and standing on one leg with the other wrapped around his waist, sliding into his cunt and listening to Steve whispering "Yes yes yes," and " _harder_ " and "good," over and over again. Bucky got to swallow those words, chase his tongue with his own, watch his face as Bucky got faster, slower, rolled his hips and stroked Steve's small dick. 

Steve wasn't holding back this time. He grunted, whimpered, made soft, surprised cries of pleasure when Bucky hit his g-spot that made Bucky _crazy_. He could feel the strength in Steve's hands as he gripped his shoulders, or ran through his hair, or-

God, watching him _cum_ undid him, feeling Steve's pussy shiver and clench as he called to God had Bucky follow a few pumps later.

They slid down the wall, both still in their half-unbuttoned uniform shirts, no hats, ties gone, Steve's pants were on one leg only and Bucky's were around his knees. Bucky pulled back, grateful he hadn't knotted Steve- THAT would have been a problem- and shucked off the condom as he fell on his ass.

He had still managed to fill the thing half way. He wasn't sure if he should be proud of how enthusiastic his balls were about Steve or not.

Steve was still panting, his face shiny with sweat, as he pulled Bucky close. "Sorry."

"For being told that I turn you into a..." The joke usually went 'Omega slut' which Bucky hadn't used since Steve had schooled him on it "... really horny person? That you think I'm sexy?" He grinned. "I'm flattered."

"For ignoring you the last couple of weeks." Steve's face was embarrassed. "I ran out of... I ran out of spermicidal jelly and then bled and then..."

And then the afterglow went out. "I broke my neck."

"Yes. You did."

"Why am I not in a hole in the ground?" Bucky asked, instead of snapping. He couldn't get angry. Steve looked exhausted, and the sight of him still sprawled there, vulnerable, flushed and with no pants on. Bucky felt twisted up. 

"Because I gave you my blood, Bucky."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, no, Cap does not have to carry Red Skulls babies. He's just the mother of monsters.


	12. Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Past interlude and smut with Peggy Carter. Pairings for the chapter are Steve/Bucky, Steve/Bucky/Peggy, and Steve/Peggy.

The first time it happened, Peggy had been out in the field with the Invaders. They were on the border headed towards Transylvania - both Steve and Bucky had been incredibly edgy, but none of their scouts had reported anything- and everything was calm. 

They set up camp, set out scouts, and Peggy had to find the latrine. 

There was an unspoken, mutual agreement between herself and Steve, when it came to latrines. They would share one whenever they were in camp together. Steve would dig it, but the fact that it was 'Peggy's latrine' meant that privacy was assured. No one peeked. Well, they didn't after the first time shots were fired.

But that meant figuring out where Steve had squirreled it away this time. He wasn't in view- and neither was Bucky to point the way- so she grunted and went off in the most likely private direction she could find.

The rest of the men, a detachment of Howling Commandos, Namor, the Human Torch and Toro, were still setting up camp. 

Steve usually marked the latrine with a simple trail sign of a rock on top of two others, and when she found it she sighed in relief. It was well hidden from direct lines of sight, behind what looked to be an ancient wall sheltered by scrub trees. A few minutes later she was straightening her clothes and sprinkling some dirt. 

That was when she heard the voices. 

She peeked up over the side to see Steve in full regalia with Bucky beside him, whispering. Their heads were bare inches from each other, Steve leaned over... not so much as he once would have. Bucky had grown considerably in the past two years. 

And not just his height, Peggy thought, eyes widening at the considerable bulge in front of the nineteen-year-old's uniform.

"Want to toss me over your shoulder?" Steve asked, soft voice laced with amusement. "Club me over the head first and drag me to your cave?"

"Steve." Bucky, on the other hand, was exasperated. "You saw how Namor was looking at you-"

Steve snickered. It was a sound Peggy hadn't heard in months.

"And he runs around in that- that -thing-"

Steve chuckled. And oh, now she would forgive Bucky almost _anything_.

"And today he said he liked _surface dweller sausage_. What the hell- stop laughing, Steve!"

Peggy looked up to see Steve had slapped both hands over his mouth to muffle the noise, but his shoulders were shaking like an earthquake. It kept going on for a few minutes before Bucky sputtered.

"So. So, so," Steve said, finally getting control of himself. "You're afraid he'll take me away from you? Or that his dick is bigger than yours?"

"Shut up," Bucky mumbled. He adjusted the bulge in his pants. "I washed our uniforms this morning. You're close to a heat."

"Hm, are you going to let him?" Steve went on, breezily. His smile turned shit eating, and Peggy felt her stomach drop at the expression on Steve's face as he pushed back his cowl. "Take me, I mean. You going to persuade me to stay?"

Bucky made a low growl in the back of his throat, putting his hands on Steve's shoulders and pushing him back. "You- how do you-"

Steve purred as Bucky pinned him against a tree. "Going to change my mind, soldier?" Steve's smile became wicked as he peeled off his gloves and ran his hand over the massive bulge in the front of Bucky's uniform. "Show me that you can treat me right?" 

Bucky snatched Steve's hand off his crotch, licking the sweaty skin before sucking Steve's wrist. His shoulders relaxed. "That bad, huh?"

Steve shuddered, the playful smile slipping away, raw lust on his face. "Buck-" he said, and swallowed. "I need you-"

Peggy shut her teeth with a click and focused on controlling her breathing as Bucky dropped to his knees, pulling Steve's pants down to his ankles and urging him around. He didn't tease, diving straight in and fluttering his tongue along Steve's pussy lips. 

She didn't know who she envied more right then.

But their attention was quite clearly away from her, so Peggy took that opportunity to _run_ for it.

~*~*~*~*~

The second time it happened she had been walking with Toro to find Bucky. The younger Torch was actually a year older of their two 'mascots', but unlike Bucky who had gone through a _massive_ growth spurt (never as tall as Steve, but just a few inches shorter and almost as broad), Toro still looked lanky and unfinished.

Peggy, upon realizing that the Captain was missing as well, had become suspicious. She had volunteered her help in case her suspicions were correct.

"Ain't this out a bit far for a latrine? We already scouted the place out, they don't need to be-" Toro whispered, when a they heard a bitten-off groan.

Toro looked at Peggy and darted off- thankfully not flaming- while Peggy wanted to swear under her breath. 

She caught up to the young man before he crashed through the bush, grabbing him from behind and slapping her hand over his mouth. 

"Now, we are going to be very quiet, because we're not exactly sure what we're walking into," she said against Toro's ear. "Because if I'm wrong and those are enemy agents, we want the element of surprise. If I'm right, well, I've saved you a lot of embarrassment."

Toro was looking at her like she was insane, but nodded at her and kept his mouth shut.

They crept, quietly, and-

She slapped her hand back over Toro's mouth. 

Bucky and Steve had picked a good place: a small, sheltered outcrop of rock surrounded by scrub, with no direct lines of sight from the sides. If they hadn't circled around to climb the rock itself, Peggy doubted she and Toro would have seen them at all.

Toro's eyes were nearly bulging from his head as he took it all in. Steve was on his knees in front of Bucky, silently but enthusiastically swallowing his cock while Bucky gripped his hair, thrusting his hips. Bucky was gasping, biting his lip to keep quiet... and he had failed, obviously.

 

Peggy didn't know if she wanted to kill them for it or find a place to bring herself off. They were utterly gorgeous together. Steve's face was slack and dazed, pupils blown to the point that his eyes looked black. One of his huge hands was braced against Bucky's hip while he sucked. The other was down his own pants. They couldn't hear, but she could see Bucky's lips move as he mouthed encouragement. 

Arousal made her face and ears hot, rushing down her chest where her tits went tight and her cunt went wet. She could hear Toro's breathing shift as she quickly let him go. Neither made a move to leave. 

She gave the two men credit. They didn't draw it out, though it was clear they wanted to, and she shivered. Bucky pushed Steve off, who fell back to his elbows, and lay back, lifting his hips to shuck his pants down to his ankles. Bucky did the same, kneeling on the ground between Steve's legs, moving into slide his fingers into Steve's flushed, plush pussy-

Toro squeaked, and Peggy slapped her hand over his mouth again. The young man looked much younger than Bucky despite his actual age, and his face was bright red. 

The wind shifted briefly, and Peggy swallowed hard as her head cleared. She should have left already. She should have been intensely embarrassed watching them. Instead, the smell coming from both of them as Bucky fingered Steve's cunt and licked his short cock had her reaching down to rub herself through her trousers. 

"I- I gotta go, Agent," Toro hissed. "Just- behind the tree, okay?" 

She licked her lips and nodded at him. He got to his feet just as she looked down to see Bucky roll a rubber down his... _Oh my_. What he lacked in height he surely made up for in length. And width. Dear god, he was huge-

Steve chuckled, looking up at Bucky through those sinfully long lashes, as Bucky took hold of himself in hand, and guided that massive cockhead into Steve. Steve, who was folded in half and watching as Bucky went in... and in... and _in_... And Steve had this content, almost _greedy_ expression on his face when Bucky bottomed out. The rim of his cunt was stretched tight against Bucky's cock and he looked... _satisfied_.

Peggy fingered her clit, licking her lips before she started humping her hand. She loved both- she was a size queen herself- but the idea of Steve under her, submitting to her and loving it while she pounded him into the dirt-

-getting filled, stretched, constant pressure on that one spot-

She almost jumped when Steve kicked off one boot and a trouser leg, flipping them both over. He ground against the bulb forming at the base, and it stretched the already tight rim of his pussy. Steve bit his pink, chapped lips and whined.

She came, quick and hard, her clit throbbing with her heart when Bucky grabbed and pulled on Steve's small dick. Steve leaned down, buried his face in Bucky's neck to muffle his shout, body twitching as he came-

And Bucky pulled out as the knot bulged, taking hold of it in one hand. Steve, panting and shuddering, joined him, and they both squeezed and stroked until Bucky threw back his head, teeth clenched. He came, shuddering and twitching for a few moments before Steve stripped his condom off. It was full of semen... and Bucky managed a few spurts after that.

Well. Peggy had never been with an Alpha before. 

The two lovers fell against each other, breathing hard and basking in the afterglow. Steve shivered as Bucky started kissing his neck, whispering in his ear and lightly tracing Steve's belly.

Steve's face went a brilliant tomato red and buried his face in Bucky's hair, but his moan was pure sin.

Christ, they looked like they might get started _again_. She felt dizzy as the wind blew back into her face, a mix of their sweat and musk and she had to pull her brain back by thinking about gunshots and battlefield injuries. 

This had gone long enough. 

"Gentlemen!" she called, only a touch out of breath. There was muffled swearing and the sound of cloth wiping skin, zippers and faint kisses, before both Steve and Bucky stepped out of their hidey-hole. She took the opportunity to neaten her own clothes and wipe her hand on some convenient moss. "Are you quite finished?"

Bucky looked fit for murder, expression thunderous as he stepped between Steve and herself, teeth bared. "Couldn't give us-"

"Buck, we were gone for awhile," Steve interrupted, putting a hand in Bucky's hair. Steve was always the more observant of the pair, and he noted what Bucky had not. Especially when the wind shifted back towards them. "The- um- how long had you been..."

Peggy tried to keep her voice from breaking as she cut him off. "I saw enough. You weren't as quiet as you thought you were." She felt uncomfortably warm at that moment; she hadn't realized how the scent of an Alpha and Omega having sex could affect her. "You two need to stop sneaking off so often. It wasn't me looking for you-"

And to her, and Bucky and Steve's chagrin, Toro chose to squeak at that moment.

"Yeah-"

Now it was Bucky's turn to look mortified when Toro ran off, before straightening. "I'll take care of him, Steve," he said, just the barest hesitation in his voice. He flashed his lover a smile before taking off in the direction Toro had gone in.

That left Steve, cheeks red and shuffling his feet. "Ah. This is... how many times have you caught us?"

"This week? Counting today? Twice." Peggy stepped in close to him, into his personal space and _bloody Norah_ did he smell like- like- musky sweet sandalwood- her mind couldn't translate it but her hands went to stroke his belly through his armored shirt as something in her gut screamed about it being flat. Too flat. That this was, for some reason, a violation and if Bucky wasn't going to fix that-

"Peggy," Steve said, quiet and calm, almost stern. "You okay?"

She snapped back to herself and dear god those thoughts had made no sense. "I- what was that?"

"I don't know." He peered at her, leaning down to snuffle at her neck, and his tongue flicked out, quickly- and her knees nearly buckled. He pulled back and frowned. "You taste... you're normal, right?"

Peggy nodded, taking a deep breath to steady herself. "Yes. Definitely a regular woman." She shouldn't be having fantasies of bending Steve over. Or fighting Bucky. That made no sense at all. 

Steve just blinked at her for several seconds and before nodding at her. "Let's head back to camp."

_I bet he tastes like vanilla and honey_ , Peggy thought as she watched him move. She kept her eyes on his ass as they walked back to camp.

~*~*~*~*~

The third time it had happened had been after they had gone back to London for another debriefing.

She was relatively content being Steve Roger's beard. It gave her a measure of protection from harassment- Steve's perception as being an Alpha by most meant they assumed he was territorial- but it also garnered a range of reactions from other women. Usually everything from catty irritation to subtle congratulations. 

But the poor man could not dance well at all.

It wasn't that he was uncoordinated. It was that he was painfully jealous of anyone Bucky was dancing with, and while he tried to concentrate on Peggy he failed miserably. 

She couldn't find the heart to angry about it. She had no desire for romance herself; she had her career and the war to cope with. She was happy for the two of them and hated that Steve couldn't dance with his chosen partner.

Not that it stopped her from being attracted to Steve and Bucky. Steve was the adorable boy next door who treated her with kindness and respect and was so deliciously beautiful as to be unreal. Bucky was a young bad boy and he knew it. Seeing them together had given her enough personal fantasy material for years.

But it was purely for the eyes of any curious onlookers that she walked with Steve, arm-in-arm, back to his quarters. She had not spent the night yet, but a few hours went to establishing his presumed heterosexual prowess. They usually had a few drinks, played cards and had a good time, but she could tell he was thinking about Bucky's date.

He smiled at her, opening the door to his quarters, switching on the small desk lamp and offering to take Peggy's coat.

She allowed it-

And then Steve squeaked.

Neither of them had noticed the dark figure in the corner, until Bucky had quite happily crept up on Steve and very obviously tweaked his nipples through his uniform, causing the aforementioned squeak.

Peggy fought the urge to snigger, but merely smiled and took her coat back when Bucky pushed Steve into a wall, and then his tongue down Steve's throat. She quickly turned away and towards the door; they had been, lately, more bold in showing their affections in front of her. Given that she had caught them in the middle of the deed, she wasn't terrible surprised-

"Hey, Peg?" Steve called, slightly breathless. 

She paused at the door to look over her shoulder. What she saw froze her solid in place.

Bucky had maneuvered Steve onto a folding chair, was standing behind him and had already managed to pull up Steve's shirt and had both hands playing with Steve's smooth, round pecs and tits. He was giving Peggy a shit eating grin. 

"Well, boys, I'll leave you two-" Her toys box was going to get a workout tonight.

"We were talkin', earlier," Bucky interrupted her. "Steve and me. You've been helpin' us out a lot." He buried his face in Steve's short hair, leaving a kiss there, before resting his chin on Steve's shoulder and twisting his nipples. Steve's eyelashes fluttered as he bit back a moan.

Peggy nearly had to do the same. 

"You've been coverin' for us, but... you ain't been getting any yourself, lately," Bucky added. "You don't hafta, of course. But..."

"You can join us." Steve's words were quick, gasping, with Bucky tracing his chest and belly down to his belt. "If you like." He flushed as Bucky kissed his neck, and seemed to melt into the chair. "We both like you."

Peggy licked her lips. 

Being 'Cap's Girl' had, indeed, kept any would-be suitors away. And while she would have preferred a casual hook-up anyway, being 'Cap's Girl' meant if she was discovered having one, her reputation would have suffered.

There were reasons she shouldn't do this. A lot of them. Give her twenty minutes away from Steve's sweet musky scent and Bucky's sharper one, and she might actually be able to think of one.

Peggy put down her coat. "How do you want to do it?"

Steve's face flushed further, but Bucky's smile got wider. "Depends on what you like, Agent," Bucky said, peeling Steve's shirt and t-shirt off. Steve glared at him, before Bucky stole a kiss. "How far do you want to go? You could just watch and play with yourself," he said, dipping his fingers further under Steve's belt to make him whine, "Or you could join in. What do you like?"

Her eyes went to where Bucky was expertly taking Steve apart, and a smile twisted her lips. "Well, I think that, for one, both of you are wearing too many clothes. Off, now."

Bucky frowned at her, then lifted an eyebrow, and Steve just swallowed. 

Peggy had guessed from watching them before that their dynamics on the battlefield were reversed in the bedroom: Steve enjoyed submitting, letting Bucky take control. Bucky, in turn, loved taking care of Steve. 

And seeing Steve slide into helpless pleasure was making her hot.

They followed her orders quickly, watching her as she stripped off her red dress and leaving her in her bra, panties, stockings and garter belt. 

Both boys are standing in front of her, nude, and she fought the urge to purr. 

Steve's huge tits were flushed and tight, and his dick, small as it was, was standing at attention as his eyes travelled down her form. His Irish skin refused to hide anything, cheeks and lips and ears all bright red as his tits and dick. His chest and face were as hairless as a woman's, though he had curly blond pubic hair barely concealing his vulva. His body was as perfectly muscled as a Greek statue, and his mouth was open in appreciation of her. 

Bucky, on the other hand, was just a few inches shorter than Steve now, and his muscles were just as defined. Unlike Steve, his chest was furred, along with his face having a five o'clock shadow. There was a trail of hair going down his chest to his belly and his groin- he's grown a lot from the skinny man-child she had first met- and she notices that nine inches is a good estimate on him.

But if she could wrap her hand all the way around his cock, she would be shocked. 

"All right then," she continues on, briskly. "Bed, gentlemen. I want you," she walked up to Steve, taking one of those ham-hands and putting them on her breasts. "To start playing with these." With her free hand she lightly drew a line up Bucky's cock, watching it twitch. "And you are going to start stretching me. I think I can take your monster here but only with a little help."

Steve laughed a little, watching Peggy's reaction carefully as he did as he's instructed when they stumble over to Steve's slightly-larger-than-standard-issue bed. 

Steve was clearly enjoying himself as he took in her dark nipples, kneading on the soft, heavy flesh. His lips latched on, purring softly as he sucked and licked, and she sighed in pleasure. 

Bucky wasn't idle, watching the two of them. He was already worshiping the inside of her thighs, working his way up to her pussy and fingering her clit.

She discovered, also, that Steve tasted just as good as she imagined. Which was strange because her brain knew he didn't actually taste like vanilla or honey, because if a person did then there was something _very_ wrong with them. She wasn't sure when she put her own head there, chin and face and tongue in his cunt or sucking his small cock while Bucky worked his thick, hard dick inside her in stages. 

"You're amazing," Bucky mumbled at one point, kissing up her back as she stayed buried in Steve's crotch because he was so damn sweet. Bucky didn't get more than two thirds of his length inside her; she really didn't care. He actually knew how to _handle_ her clit. 

Steve had barely spoken. She had the feeling he was focused on keeping his legs open and not crushing her head with his thighs. The rim of his cunt, just inside the pussy lips, was delightfully sensitive; she remembered seeing him in bliss as he rode Bucky's knot and-

_she wanted to do the same_

She came as Steve gushed over her tongue, Bucky pumping inside her and pinching her clit. 

She rolled to the side, watching Bucky urge Steve to his hands and knees, sliding home. She had never seen an Alpha knot before; she had never taken one to bed. The sight of Bucky's knot stretching Steve, watching him bite his hand to keep from screaming-

She came again as she pulled on her clit, imagining herself pounding Steve.

~*~*~*~*~

Peggy wasn't sure when it happened.

The last thing she remembered clearly was a mission with the Howlies, along with Steve and Bucky, and infiltrating one of Hydra's breeding facilities. They had discovered, early on, that Hydra liked to use Omegas, particularly Omega females, to breed future Alpha shock troops. Omegas had a shorter gestation time than regular women, and tended to bear more than one child. It was possible, especially if the Omega had multiple partners, to birth up to five infants safely. They had found the experiments to artificially age the boys into adults. The girls had been... disposed of.

Discovering this facility had caused Steve to go berserk.

During the raid they had been... She didn't remember much. Just that there had been a gas, and...

She kept it together. She did. They walked out of the facility with the Omega slaves and their surviving offspring. Steve gave them reassurances, got them loaded up, and told them about his doctor, Dr. Reinstein, who was good at helping Omegas. 

The poor traumatized souls didn't want to let Steve go, cuddling against him like he was the first safe person they had ever met. They even shrank from her when she tried to pet one.

She dodged Peggy easily.

It made the throbbing pain in Peggy's head worse, and it echoed through her body and finally to her groin. 

She felt like she was on fire. 

She made her way back to her tent before unceremoniously doubling over with a gasp of pain. Then she knew no more.

~*~*~*~*~

She had passed out to the long slanting light of dusk to awaken to darkness. She took notes, absently: she hadn't made it to her cot, she was on the wet ground and damp had soaked through her wool uniform, and the pain was gone. Hunger remained.

There was a smell. It was the barest hint, filtering in when the wind shifted in her direction and was gone again. It was beckoning, calling her like roast meat or fresh bread, promising to let her eat her fill and be sated.

She got to her feet, swayed a few times before getting her balance. She felt odd, but that scent was so damn distracting she couldn't get her thoughts together. She had to find out what it was. Images scattered through her thoughts, trying to put together something rational, but words were impossible and images turned to blown smoke as soon as it formed. She just had to find that smell. 

Now.

All of the tents were dark, but there was enough moonlight that she didn't trip over the tent lines. 

That scent was getting closer- closer- when the wind shifted, blowing away from her and she stopped. Felt a small whine build in the back of her throat. She shook her head, muttering to herself- that smell, she needed to find it, had to find it, her groin felt heavy and weighted with it and nothing made sense- when the stars and moon were blotted out.

A large man. She knew him.

"Hey, Peggy," he said, tipping his bowler at her. His impressive mustache curled up in a smile. 

He wasn't the source of the smell, and therefore completely inconsequential to her. She started to walk around him. 

He put a hand on her arm. "Hey, you feelin' all-"

She cracked him across the face before he could blink, and he fell to the dirt. Peggy took a deep breath through her teeth, as her instincts screamed for her to do more than just knock the man unconscious. He had been trying to block her from going where she needed to go. He was inconsequential. 

He didn't matter. 

(A small voice in her head protested otherwise. It annoyed her enough that she swatted the air and walked away.)

_There_ he was.

The source of the smell, the cause of her hunger was familiar. She had known it. She knew him, and the sight of him heading out of the woods with wet hair told her all she needed to know. She charged forward, slamming into him with all her strength.

He staggered back a few steps, into the bushes, and with another shove she got him off his feet, sprawling in the dirt.

"Peg?"

The sounds were buzzing insects, a distraction. They didn't matter. All that mattered was finding his mouth, tasting him, feeling his skin. 

He was struggling to get up, staring at her when she landed on top of him, hands firmly tangled in his short hair and pressing her lips to his.

His lips were soft, lush, opening for her with a confused whine as she put her hands on his shoulders and pressed him back. He smelled not ripe, not yet, but close. He yielded for her anyways; she could smell his arousal as she broke the kiss.

His lips moved, and sound came out. Words. She almost understood them, but it was a distraction. He pressed his hands to the ground like he wanted to get up-

She growled, felt it start in the bottom of her chest and move upwards, through her throat and teeth and skull and the bitch _scrambled_ , another soft whine between his teeth. His hands flew, not to the ground but to his belt and trousers. She leaned away as he wiggled free, kicking off his boots and leaving him bare from the waist down. The moonlight was strong enough for the shine of slick to be seen overflowing his swollen lips and small twitching cock.

The heat in her groin rode the edge of pain as pressure built against the fly of her trousers, and she rocked against him. She ground her teeth in frustration. _Everything_ felt high and tight, to the point of bursting-

She almost howls when the bitch says something, sitting up and stroking the front of her trousers, cupping the heavy bulge there. The voice is confused, reverent, and she swallowed her own whimper as he opened up her belt and fly and...

He reached into her trousers for the swollen thing. It came out, long and hard, and she let out another _growl_ as he stroked it. It felt heavy and slick against his fingers and she bucked once, twice. 

He was breathing hard as he made more sounds. They meant _nothing_ but there was fear there. Concern. Not lust. She batted his hands away and kissed him again. 

He laid back as she bucked, hips hitching forward of their own accord as she found his soft, open hole and put the swollen thing inside it.

It was as if she had been swallowed by the sun.

She pressed forward, onto her knees and holding open the bitch's legs while she pounded inside him in short, rabbit jolts. The bitch, _her_ bitch, bit back a high sharp sound and she snarled in satisfaction. The warm, wet hole rippled around her swollen thing (clit, a voice insisted in her mind, shocked and unbelieving) as it became harder, a swell at the base corresponding to the tingle, heat about to burst out of her.

She shuddered when the warm, wet hole clenched down at the swollen thing at the base. It caught, caught and tied and she finally exploded and spurt, filling up the bitch under her.

She collapsed, purring loudly as she nuzzled his neck. 

The words above her head whistled and buzzed, and the smell of the man she laid on started to settle in her mind.

Her hair was being stroked while she licked him, sucking on the skin.

"Peggy." She rocked her hips and her bitch mewled. "Oh, god, Peggy," he said, panting. "God. Can you hear me?" He mewled again as the soft velvet of his hole rippled around her swollen clit again, milking the hard thing at the base. "Please, Peggy, sweet heart."

She purred again, and let her hands drift to his belly. He would give her strong babies. 

"Peggy, wake up. Please, Peg." He kissed her hair, and she rocked the knot harder inside him. Keeping her seed where it should be. Breeding him, making him big.

She could smell the other Alpha, but he hadn't done his job. Steve needed to be bred. He _deserved_ it.

And with that, Peggy came back to herself- and muffled a shriek as she pulled back on the knot that had tied her to Steve.

"You back with me?" he said, voice strained at the sharp tug of pain inside him. She could barely see his face in the moonlight, but she could tell it lips were slick and wet from kissing. She tried to move again, and this time it set off another mini-orgasm that washed up and down her spine, and more seed spurt up inside him.

"For a," she started, stopped, licked her lips as her mind tried to process what had happened. "A given value of here."

Steve nodded, before groaning. She could smell the desire on him, but there was also a metallic stink of horror. 

"I- Steve- what the hell do I have a penis?"

He went quiet. "Zola and the Skull's breeding facility. They had been doing research in how to make Alphas, along with breeding them, remember?"

_Then_ Peggy remembered what she had done. "Oh my god. Steve- I'm, oh my god. What did I- are you all right?"

She had- she had-

"I don't know." He laughed, and it was the weakest, most pathetic sound she had ever heard in her life. "I don't know! I didn't have my diaphragm in because Bucky's not in camp and you. Oh god, the feel of your cum inside me-" and his moan was low and filthy as his legs wrapped around her waist, pulling her tighter. He sounded on the verge of tears. "God, Peg. You're an Alpha."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More drama next chapter.

**Author's Note:**

> Constructive criticism appreciated.


End file.
